Anita Talacay Ragodos

Anita Talacay Ragodos was born in Cabucgayan, Biliran, in the Philippines. She is the second-youngest of six children, born to (father) Innocentes and (mother) Presentacion, and grew up between Cabucgayan and Tacloban City, helping to look after her younger brother, before going on to study nursing at Velez College in Cebu.

After graduating from the class of 1969, she started her lifelong career in nursing at the then-new Ostpital ng Maynila Medical Center. She enjoyed the vibrant city life of Manila with her friends and coworkers for a few years before an opportunity to relocate to the U.S. came in the form of workforce development efforts aiming to meet the demand for nurses in the States. She migrated in 1972, choosing Florida because one of her sisters had already begun working there as a doctor. There, Anita worked in the hospital of a small town called Belle Glade and lived in a shared residence for other nurses from the Philippines. In her free time, she liked to go to beaches and travel.

In 1972, she met a handsome and hardworking migrant farm worker named Rudy, and they started dating and traveling to different places. They married two years later and had two children, Rodrigo Junior and Nick.

In 1986, she and Rudy moved the family to California in search of other job opportunities and briefly resided in Poplar and Hayward before settling in Stockton, where they were adopted into its large community of Binalonan families. There, Anita continued working with Kaiser Permanente and had a part-time position with Dameron Hospital’s Cardiac Care Unit for many years – eventually retiring in 2012.

She loved to be social and dance. She loved to draw and grow orchids. She loved attending reunions with her Velez College classmates and going back to the Philippines to visit family.

Anita has one grandson, Marcus Manuntag Ragodos, who she loves dearly and played a big part in raising.

Anita is often remembered as being one of the sweetest and kindest people others have met in their lifetimes. She was a devout catholic, steadfast in her values, and stood up for others. Her presence will be sorely missed by her family and dear friends. However, the impact that she’s made on their lives will carry forward in their hearts.