When Mauricia Alvarez Pagdonsolan walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. She was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. Mauricia was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.
Mauricia was born on September 22, 1929 at home in a natural birth in As-Is, Bauan, Batangas. She was the daughter of Roman Alvarez and Maria Alvarez. Mauricia was raised in As-Is, Bauan, Batangas. Inay had 9 siblings: Candida Alvarez, Paulino Alvarez, Narcisa Gunio, Maximo Alvarez, Sulpicio Alvarez, Juliana Alvarez, Eduardo Alvarez, Victoria Alvarez, and Maximino Alvarez. She was very accepting and supportive of her family. While some who knew Mauricia might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Mauricia was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.
As a young girl, Mauricia was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Mauricia was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. In her spare time she liked to sew home goods and work in the rice plantation with her siblings. While growing up, some of her best friends were Candida Manalo, Obdulia Castillo, Felipa Manalo, and Nolie Talain.
During her high school years, Mauricia responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another. She graduated from Batangas National High School in 1946. Mauricia was a very good student, and generally did well in her courses. Mauricia absorbed as much as she could from all of her teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems, using her imagination to master her assignments. Her favorite class in high school was English and Science.
Mauricia did well in college, as a result of her comfort level with tackling new theories and her love of learning. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education in 1950 at Philippine Normal College, one of the top education universities of the Philippines at that time. Her favorite courses were English Literature and Science. Inay was very hardworking while in college. She spent any time she wasn’t studying working for a wealthy uncle throughout college to support herself, as well as to assist her parents in putting her younger siblings through college.
On December 29, 1962 Mauricia married Marcos Pagdonsolan at Immaculate Conception Parish of Bauan, Batangas. Mauricia's skill at “building bridges” played an important role in her ability to make her new family happy. She was quite sensitive towards Marcos's needs, showing her constant concern and fondness. Mauricia was tenderhearted and sensitive, qualities that served her well in helping to nurture her family.
Mauricia was a natural and creative parent who was willing to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For Mauricia, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Mauricia's skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Mauricia was blessed with four children, one boy and three girls: Michael Pagdonsolan, Mila Rigor, Melda Mercado, and Melinda Manalo.
She and Marcos were later blessed with eight grandchildren: Mikki Pagdonsolan, Matthew Mercado, Adrienne Rigor, Michael Pagdonsolan Jr., Kassandra Manalo, Alex Rigor Jr., Kirstynn Mercado, and Darren Manalo. Inay’s happiest memories are when all her grandchildren are able to get together and spend time with her, or when she got to sit with a loved one and tell them stories over a cup of coffee. While raising her family and cherishing the time spent with them, she always reminded everyone to never fight and always love one another.
Mauricia was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made her an exceptional worker. Her primary occupation was as an elementary school teacher, teaching music, science, and Filipino folkdance. She began teaching in Samar for four years to start her teaching career before moving to As-Is. While there, she worked at As-Is Balayong Elementary School for twenty-eight years until she moved to the United States in 1982. After moving to the United States, she worked as a home care caregiver and as a caregiver in a daycare center. Mauricia had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of her gift for insight. Mauricia's fellow workers saw her as a supporter and a mentor.
Because Mauricia loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, she took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were sewing home goods, cooking new recipes, baking, gardening, writing, and making rosaries. Mauricia had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Mauricia's ever-present concern for others always took precedent. With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought her an endless stream of friends, Mauricia was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Mauricia was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many, many friends.
Mauricia was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. Inay was born and raised as a Catholic. She was sympathetic and able to empathize with others and she used these qualities to the fullest while working tirelessly for her beliefs. Aside from being a devoted church member, she also was actively involved in professional and community organizations. She was compassionate, accommodating and quick to move into action. Always able to build a consensus, Mauricia seemed to be the person smack dab in the middle of things, working to get things done. Those who had the opportunity to work with Mauricia usually agreed that when you were involved in an organization with her, it was as entertaining as anything you could imagine. Throughout her later years, Mauricia was an active member of the rosary making group with St. Christopher Catholic Church and the Filipino Teacher Retirees Group.
Mauricia's love of improvising in her daily life was a perfect fit for her enjoyment of traveling. Traveling in a casual manor fit her personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer, Mauricia took her vacations seriously, well, as seriously as she possibly could. Favorite vacations included going home to the Philippines and visiting Europe. While at home, Mauricia was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Inay loved spending time with Simba when visiting California and spent most of her time with Spot at home in Las Vegas.
She retired from teaching in 1982, and then moved to California, USA. She fully retired 1994. Mauricia handled it the way she usually did. She adapted and, like everything in her life, made it satisfying. Because she was such a flexible person and able to adjust to any situation, retirement was just another enjoyable change of pace for Mauricia to master. In retirement, she found new pleasure in cooking new recipes, writing, staying active in church, gardening, taking care of her grandchildren, and sewing home goods for her family. Even in retirement, Mauricia continued to stay in touch with her old friends and like always, made plenty of new ones.
Inay suffered a heart attack June 10th, 2023. And passed away on June 11th at St. Rose Hospital. She initially complained of general malaise the morning of June 10th before arriving to the St. Rose Hospital ED. She was taken in for an angiogram when she suddenly coded and required CPR for 20 minutes. She was sedated and intubated and was supported by a balloon pump and breathing tube. She was provided comfort care before dying in the ICU surrounded by family and friends. She is survived by her children; Michael and wife Zonia Pagdonsolan, Mila, Melda, Mylee and husband Joel Manalo; her grandchildren Mikki, Matt, Adrienne, Jun, Kacey, AJ, Tin, and Darren; and her siblings Eduardo, Victoria, and Juliana. Services will be held at Palm Southwest Mortuary.
There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Mauricia. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, it seemed as if many others looked to Mauricia Pagdonsolan for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Mauricia was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with her loved ones.
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