Fortunata "Naty" Corpuz Mariano

was married to Esteban Mariano for 56 years until his passing in 2003. She is survived by her five

children: Remy, Jane, Stevo, Noel and Brenda. Sadly, her daughter Lorna, passed away a couple of years ago.

Naty was a loving wife, an understanding and supportive mother, and a caring grandmother. She

was a generous and kind-hearted person. She would never hesitate to help her friends and relatives in

need.

Gardening was her passion. She would talk about it a lot. She enjoyed going to the backyard to

pick fresh vegetables for her ‘pinakbet’. Often times, she would share them with others. She liked

sewing. She made clothes for herself and for her children when they were young. Fishing was one of the

hobbies she loved to do with her husband. They even tried clamming. For her it was a treat. They would

drive down south to Seacliff and drive up north to Rio Vista as many times as they could, especially in

the summer. Naty became very good at making Filipino sweet rice cakes. She made sure to bring some

to a ‘potluck’. People will remember her for it.

Naty liked to travel. Her first trip was in a company jet to Indonesia. She ended up staying for a

few months to be with her husband who was there for work. She was a quick learner. She learned to

speak the language (Bahasa Indonesia) in just a short time. Also, she went to visit her two daughters in

Iran. And on her way, she made a stop in Hong Kong and Singapore for a few days.

In the early 80’s, she immigrated to the U.S. with her spouse. They lived in three different

States, namely; Illinois, Kentucky and California. They decided to move to Kentucky to be close to their

eldest daughter. She and her husband made Kentucky their residence for many years. They had a

bungalow they called home and a car to drive around town. Leaving Kentucky wasn’t easy, but the cold

winter days didn’t work for them. They moved back to California to enjoy the sunny weather, to

reconnect with family, and ultimately, to help the rest of their children settle in San Jose.

Additionally, she visited other places like Maui, Las Vegas, Lewisburg in West Virginia,

Washington D.C. and New York.

Naty’s life is now in full circle. At 91, she had lived her life and lived it well.