Virginia Reyes Strebel

Virginia Strebel was the eldest and first-born of Edwardo Reyes and Praxedes Asia. She was born on November 8, 1938 and was followed by her siblings Emilio, Laida, Cesar, Edgar, and Leonida. They lived in Manila, Philippines, where they were born and raised. Virginia married Richard Strebel on July 25, 1958 and together they had six daughters Jennifer, Elizabeth, Susan, Marylou, Annabelle, and Greta. Their marriage lasted for 55 years until she was widowed. The Philippine Communications Satelite employed Virgina throughout her early working years, and once she left her homeland, Virgina worked as a Certified Nurse’s Assistant at University of California Irvine and retired after 25 years. She worked in the Cancer Unit, where her positive energy lightened the department.

Virginia lived a fulfilling life and loved spending time with family and friends. She always enjoyed being active, going to social gatherings, getting her hair and nails done, shopping and going to the movies. One thing she loved very much was traveling. She visited many countries in Europe on multiple tours with her husband. Virgina used to belong to a bowling group and loved to dance. In recent years, she picked up piano playing, which she enjoyed very much. As a Grandmother, she went on trips to National Parks and flew to Hawaii to visit Aulani Resort with the grandchildren. She was also very young hearted and fun, that she even held an annual pass to Disneyland and visited frequently with her youngest grandchildren.

Virginia Strebel was very much a woman of faith, who prayed for her family everyday and did the Rosary every night upon retiring before bed. Attending mass with her family every Sunday, she made sure that her grandchildren knew who God was and ensured that they loved and practiced faith in Him. Virgina was a local parisher at St. Thomas Church from 1986- until death, October 2016. She attended the annual fiestas and fish fry in support of the church and school.

One of the best memories of Virgina Strebel was how lively and loud she was. She loved to entertain guests and effortlessly cooked wonderful big Filipino dishes that were delicious and generated many compliments. She entertained many with funny and suggestive stories regarding her romance with her husband or how they would randomly yell and call each other names. She would also dance and sing made up songs to grandchildren and pets.

She loved to speak with people and found it effortless to make friends. Virginia was always keeping busy even when retired. Ever since she became a grandmother, she has helped raise five of them while her daughters worked . Even when she would work all night, she and her husband would still come home in the morning happy to see their grandchildren at their house. On the weekends, they would want all their grandchildren to stay the night and watch scary movies all together in the living room until all fell asleep, and in the morning, it never failed that they did not have donuts or a traditional big Filipino breakfast ready to eat. It always brought them joy to be surrounded by the people they loved . Virginia Strebel was a lively soul that will never be forgotten. She brought life to her family and taught everyone the importance of love and togetherness. Her large presence pulsated strength, unconditional love, and the importance of laughter in all the stages of life.