Aida Santiago is her given name but to most people, she was simply known as “Nanay” (Mother). She was the antithesis of today’s culture. She always chose people over money, helping over blaming, caring over winning and others over self. She listened, gave and loved unconditionally. To many, she was the ultimate gift. To her family, she was the glue, moral compass and light. And oh did she shine different!
Nanay easily lived a thousand years in the 85 calendar years that she was with us. Many have said that her life story could have been a movie. For starters, she was the original modern woman trapped in the wrong century. To say that she did things her way was an understatement. Her marriage to the love of her life, five children (and eight grandchildren, five great grandchildren and countless people she informally adopted), being a young successful woman entrepreneur and a world traveler is a short list of her accomplishments. However, I’m sure if you ask her the same question, she’d say that knowing and loving each of you and her ineffable relationship with The Heavenly Father were the real success stories of her life.
If you’ve ever heard her pray, which she religiously did every morning and night, you’d know that she did a separate prayer for every member of her family. Going down the list, she would say each person’s full name. We often joked that the only information missing were their address and social security numbers. As she got older, these prayers got much longer and louder. It’s probably safe to say, that Jesus can now probably take off his ear plugs! All jokes aside, the simplest pleasures in life brought the greatest joy to Nanay and none more so than seeing everyone together for our weekly family gathering. Many times, she just sat reading while the men told stories and the women played mahjong. Her uncanny ability to find happiness in the most mundane things and activities was a mere reflection of the extraordinary beauty of her simple yet boundless heart and resplendent soul.
Born to Alberto Abergas and Estanislawa Padilla on October 9, 1935, in Bulacan, Philippines, she graduated high school at Meycauayan Institute. She got married at the tender age of sixteen to Raymundo Santiago. For decades thereafter, she lived every moment, laughed every day and loved beyond words. Surrounded by family, she passed in San Jose, CA on August 24, 2021.
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