Maria Pascua's Obituary
Maria Omega Pascua was born on December 8, 1924 in Ormoc City, in the province of Leyte, in the Philippines. Her mother was Canuta Sacay and her father was Enrique Omega. Maria characterized her father as a stern man who had a fondness for raising fighting roosters; she fondly remembered her mother as a very pretty and soft-spoken woman. Both parents lived into old age. Maria was the youngest of three daughters. Her oldest sister was Adela, who immigrated to Australia with her family and died there in her 80s. Her sister Paulita, who suffered a spinal injury in childhood, died at a relatively young age in Cebu City.
In an interview, Maria described Ormoc as a small city full of relatives and relations, where everyone knew everyone. She grew up in the Omega house on Agua Dulce Street, which was named after the artesian well on the street. She attended the city’s public school until seventh grade, then started attending St. Peter’s College for high school, where she was educated by strict Benedictine nuns. Maria remembered that attending St. Peter’s College cost her family four pesos per month, which was a high fee in those days. In her early Ormoc years, Maria’s constant companion was Emen Sacay, her first cousin.
The years of World War II were challenging ones for everyone in Ormoc. Maria remembers the years of the Japanese occupation as a time of deprivation and danger. Late in that period, Maria met Rodolfo Pascua, a Filipino who was serving as an officer in the US Army. They were married in Ormoc in 1945, with Maria wearing a wedding dress borrowed from Mrs. Aguirre, a neighbor. In the post-war years, following Rodolfo’s career path in the Army, Maria and Rodolfo lived in Virginia and Maryland in the United States, then Yokohama in Japan. The Army trained Rodolfo in Japanese for counter-intelligence purposes, and he eventually achieved a rank of Second Lieutenant. After their time in Japan, and because Rodolfo was unwilling to be stationed in Korea during the Korean War, Rodolfo retired from the Army and the family returned to Ormoc.
Maria and Rodolfo had six children: Margarita, Rodolfo Junior, Diana, Loretta, Marlan, and Enrique, who died in early childhood. Through the 50s and into the 70s, Maria and Rodolfo owned and managed sugarcane farms in Ormoc, often under difficult circumstances. When Rodolfo and the children immigrated to California in the early 70s, Maria diligently brought their holdings to stability. In the late 70s Maria joined the family in the States, and settled in Reno, Nevada with Loretta. For many years, Maria worked at the Macy’s department store in the Meadowood Mall in Reno, as part of their security team. Upon her retirement, Maria moved to Oakland, California to be closer to the rest of her family.
In her later decades, Maria was an avid reader. She was also an exceptional cook, who always tried to feed everyone who came to her house. Her strongest quality was her generosity, which was shown in her constant gifts and donations to relatives—both in the US and back in the Philippines—and to charities. Though frugal, she nevertheless lavished her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren with love, care, and tangible support. And though she was modest, Maria went through the ups and downs of her long life with determination and hard-working strength, always fiercely protecting her family as it navigated its own ups and downs.
Maria died peacefully in the late afternoon of Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Oakland. Her family surrounded her at the time of her passing. She was 91 years old. In addition to her five grown children, Maria is survived by four children-in-law: Edgar Barot, Nelda Pascua, Rodolfo Reyes, and Dean Tatsuno. She is also survived by 16 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and grandchildren-in-law: Enrique Barot, Mara Barot, Elena Pizzi, Steve Pizzi, Amy Laderer, Clayton Laderer, Dominic Reyes, Francis Pascua, Randy Pascua, Lauren Tatsuno, Kristen Tatsuno, Vincent Pizzi, Anthony Pizzi, Ava Laderer, Ryanne Laderer, and Logan Laderer.
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