Dominga Moya Sinsay

Dominga Moya Sinsay, loving wife, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and kind friend, transitioned peacefully to her eternal rest on March 22, 2025, at the age of 84 in a nursing center near her beloved home where she lived for over fifty years in the community of Paradise Hills in San Diego, California.

Dominga, affectionately known as "Inggay" to her relatives and friends, was born on March 9, 1941, in Pasong Camachile, a barangay in Cavite province of the Philippines. She was the daughter and second child of Miguel and Victoria Moya.

At the beginning of World War II, her father, who worked as a civilian at the base in Cavite, was killed when it was attacked at the start of the war. It was a tough time. Yet Dominga’s mother, and a devoted close-knit family of aunties and uncles, persevered and determined to rebuild. It was their resolve, resourcefulness and sacrifices that shaped Dominga’s life.

In school, Dominga was popular and had a playful side. But she also had a serious work ethic for studying. She excelled in math and in later years wanted to study accounting. She learned from her elders values that espoused devotion, determination, resilience, and being trustworthy and dependable. She also learned to have charity, and be helpful and generous.

She was courted by Ely Columna Sinsay, who also grew up in Pasong Camachile. After enlisting in the United States Navy and moving to America, he came back to the Philippines to ask her to marry him. They wedded on December 24, 1960. A child, Elmer, was born the following year. In 1962 she began her journey to live abroad, be with her husband and raise a loving family. With her one-year-old son, she boarded a navy vessel and crossed the Pacific Ocean over to Oahu, Hawaii, where Ely was stationed. While there a daughter, Diana, and a son, Edwin, were born. Later, they immigrated to the mainland as Ely’s military assignment moved him to Mare Island near Vallejo. The next duty transfer took them to Yokosuka, Japan, where a daughter, Dina, was born. After a few years, Ely later received orders to be posted in San Diego. There, the family settled and bought a house on Parkside Avenue. Dominga made it her beloved home, a place to lovingly raise her four children and support her husband for many years. She would later own her own beauty salon and operated the business for thirty years.

She loved to cook and bake. She especially took pride in making traditional Filipino dishes like lumpia, adobo and pancit and sharing them with everybody at parties. She also was taught recipes from her beauty salon customers learning how to make baklava and lemon bars. Friends and relatives who have tasted them would exclaim they were the best they ever had! In her 40’s, Dominga became a passionate runner. She often trained for hours and participated in distance races held in San Diego. In the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon she placed second in her age group! Gardening was also a pastime she loved to do as she liked to tend to many plants around the home. Many of the fruits like cherimoya, kalamansi, guava and dragon fruit, she would gladly give to friends and relatives. Lastly, she was a dedicated parishioner at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Paradise Hills. She loved praying and giving generous offerings at their Sunday mass services. She and Ely would later volunteer as ministers of holy communion at the church.

Dominga is preceded in death by her daughter Diana (Bob) Sobol Slack, her older brother Rolando (Lucy) Moya, and her parents Miguel and Victoria Moya. She is survived by her husband of 64 years Ely; by her children, Elmer (Leslie) Sinsay of Washington DC, Edwin Sinsay of San Diego and Dina Sinsay of Alameda; her six grandchildren, Matthew, Kristin (Thomas), Kelsey, Garrett (Charlotte), Julia and Ellison; her two great-grandchildren Rustin and Reese; and her brother Bayani (Elva) Madlangbayan of Pensacola, Florida, her brother Reynaldo (Petronila) Madlangbayan of San Diego, and her sister Avelina (Maximo) Romen of Marlton, New Jersey.

A funeral Mass will be held for Dominga at St. Michael’s Catholic Church on April 28, 2025, at 11:00 AM, followed by her burial at Miramar National Cemetery. The Sinsay family would like to welcome relatives and friends to a reception afterward at her beloved home on 6233 Parkside Avenue to celebrate her life.

Dominga’s life was full of adventure and challenging experiences, yet tragically ended after an arduous ordeal with cancer. In lieu of flowers, her legacy can be honored by giving to UC San Diego Health (https://health.ucsd.edu/giving/), especially the Cancer Center Research Fund, the Future of Care Fund and the Center for Healthy Aging Fund. It would reflect her kind generous spirit and heartfelt thanks for the care she received from the medical center’s dedicated doctors, nursing staff and health professionals.