Emiliana Pascua's Obituary
Loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Emiliana Douaso Estrella Beles Pascua — known lovingly to all, as “Nanay” or “Lola Miling” — was surrounded by family when she peacefully passed away at home in Vallejo, California on Thursday morning, February 21, 2019. She was 95 years old.Born March 12, 1923, in Leyte, Philippines as the 3rd child of Faustino and Urbana Berdal Douaso. Nanay was the youngest of the family which included her older siblings, Tasciana and Faustino Jr.Nanay attended primary school in the Philippines, but she did not pursue a higher education after learning to read and write. Only once she arrived in America in 1963 did she pursue her passion for cooking and decided to attend culinary school and take English courses. She graduated in 1965 and immediately found a job at the Chinese Hospital in downtown San Francisco. There she worked her way up to the lead Chef position before retiring after 35 years of service. She was known for her loving and nurturing personality that her co-workers gave her the nickname “Mama.”At an early age, Nanay married Gil Estrella and had two girls, Rosalina and Rosalinda. However, Nanay never imagined she would find herself widowed at the age of 19 and lose her youngest daughter to pneumonia. Eventually, Nanay married her second husband, Benny Beles, and had six more children – Danilo (“Danny”), Tranquilino (“Lino”), Dolores (“Nene”), Esperanza (“Espie”), Rolando (“Boy”) and Rosita (“Baby”). While in States, Benny passed away unexpectedly, and she found herself widowed for the second time. She found love one more time and married her third and last husband, Carlos Pascua.Struggling to survive in the Philippines, Nanay dreamt of traveling to the United States of America to pursue better opportunities for her and her family. Her dream became reality in August of 1963, when Nanay, Danny, Lino, Nene and Espie arrived in San Francisco, California. Boy and Baby were left behind and cared for by Lina and her husband, Leonardo (“Nardo”). Determined more than ever to provide for her growing family, she wanted to earn and save enough money to bring all her family to the States. Not only did she wish for them to have the same opportunities, but more importantly, she wanted her family to be complete again.When her second husband passed away, she became the sole provider for her family. She continued to work hard and earned enough money to eventually bring the rest of her family (Boy, Baby, Lina, Nardo and their children) to the States. Hard work and determination paid off as Nanay was able to purchase her first home for her family.Besides cooking and working hard for her family, Nanay’s other pastimes included gardening, singing, dancing, and hosting big family parties. She was also an active member of the Filipino community. Nanay’s work with the community presented her with the opportunity to be crowned as “Her Majesty, Queen Emily 1” from 1989 to 1990.After retiring from the hospital, she devoted much of her time raising and caring for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She extended the same care and devotion to other family members and acquaintances who needed help getting financially stable in life. This is the reason why she is known to all, not just to her immediate family, as Nanay.Nanay was preceded in death by her parents, Faustino and Urbana; her siblings, Tasciana and Faustino Jr.; her husbands, Gil, Benny and Carlos; and her children Rosalinda and Danny.Nanay is survived by her children Lina, Lino, Nene, Espie, Boy and Baby. Along with her children’s spouses, 26 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren and 8 great-great-grandchildren.
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