“Give me a problem and I’ll hand you a solution.” Those who knew Myrna Santos Escolar would agree that that motto accurately described her. Myrna was a woman of great drive and a very original, independent thinker. For Myrna, no challenge was impossible, and just about any desired result was within her grasp. Myrna placed great trust in her intuition. Since that intuition generally led her in the right direction, who was she to doubt it.
Myrna was born on October 12, 1947 to Celedonio and Antonia Santos. Her childhood found her in Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines where she matured into the independent person she eventually became.
Myrna grew up with five siblings, Rodolfo, Froilan, Cynthia, Virgilio, and Winnie. Myrna could be seen as being stubborn by her siblings. It was important to her that she was perceived as “right” when it came to her part in those typical family spats. However, this quality did not over power her caring for her family. This ability to balance her family, with her need to be seen as right, helped her to develop into a young adult while enjoying many good times with her family.
During her grade school years, Myrna was a very focused and serious student who actually enjoyed the challenge of many classroom problems. She was determined to succeed, and she drew upon her gifts of trust and perseverance to provide her with a competitive edge. While her first love might have been academics, Myrna took part in swimming. Myrna delighted in projects that required planning, critical thinking and resolution. Myrna's memorable achievements included becoming a teacher at the age of 19.
During high school, Myrna was relentless in her pursuit of learning, especially in those subject areas that really grabbed hold of her interests. It wasn't that she didn't put forth her best efforts in all classes, but if a subject really interested her, she would eagerly put forth extra effort to learn all she could.
Myrna's inventive side developed as she moved into her college years. When Myrna found herself involved in an area that particularly interested her, she could organize and complete any task that was given to her and make it look as if she hadn't really needed to put forth any effort. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education.
Myrna was loyal to her friends. She found that she was most in tune with people who had similar interests and thought about things much the way that she did. Myrna sometimes had a tendency to be critical in her friendships but she was more interested in finding out what was right in a situation rather than in being mean toward others. She never intentionally set out to hurt any of her friends. Myrna was a person who challenged others to fend for themselves and to be original in their thinking and evaluation of the outside world. While growing up, some of her best friends were Cora Tapang. Later in life, she became friends with her co-teacher in Malolos Elementary School, namely Baby, Lena, Lucy, Lourdes and Venus.
Nestor's sensitivity to Myrna's needs proved to be a wonderful influence on this woman, who preferred to live in her “gut.” Nestor's influence brought Myrna to a new emotional level, one that eventually enhanced all of her other gifts and abilities. Nestor was able to help Myrna appreciate the fact that others made contributions and Myrna became better at interacting with those around her. Because of this, Myrna grew as a person.
Myrna often neglected her own feelings in order to give to others. This was very true when it came to how she dealt with her children. She was able to hand on to each child a number of strong values. She taught them to appreciate their abilities, gave them a desire to persevere despite obstacles and set within them a drive to succeed. She had three children, Dennis, Dessa, and Mia. She also had six grandchildren, Dustin, Zoe, Jillian, Kyle, Jaden, and Zia. They were always aware of how much Myrna loved them.
During Myrna's professional working years, she was at her best when working independently. It became the hallmark of her performance. Myrna was generally able to refocus her drive and determination and readily work toward finding a way to get things done that was beneficial to herself and her co-workers. Her primary occupation was as a 4th grade teacher. She was employed for thirty years as a 4th grade teacher.
For Myrna, her outside interests and hobbies became another exercise in learning and mastering areas that interested her. She greatly enjoyed unraveling the "hows" and "whys" that lay behind her hobbies. Myrna was always pushing herself to learn more and to stretch her knowledge base even further. She firmly believed that the more things that she knew the more control she would have over things. Her favorite pursuits were crocheting, playing Candy Crush, and watching her favorite Filipino shows.
Watching her favorite sporting events by herself was never a problem for Myrna. It allowed her to indulge in her own individual interpretation of the event. It was not uncommon for Myrna to know what the right play or move “should have been,” and she would vocally address these feelings even if there was no one around to hear them. And if there were others around, she would still state his feelings and gladly debate anyone on their opposing views. Recreational sports included swimming and bowling. She enjoyed following her favorite sporting events. Tops on her list was swimming.
Myrna's faith allowed her to better appreciate the gifts and opinions of others. This deepening aspect of her life helped her to accept her own feelings to a greater degree. She was religious and attended many churches in her life.
Myrna's skepticism was visible when she found it necessary to place too much trust in one person. This was never clearer than when it was time for her to schedule a vacation or period of time away from her regular schedule. Myrna loved the research aspects of planning a trip, but the actual process of relaxing was far more difficult. Still, she did manage to enjoy some time away. Favorite vacations included going home to the Philippines to visit her son, going to British Columbia, Canada and Portland, Oregon to visit St. Peregrine's Shrine.
Myrna was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. They were best friends for Keempe, a Japanese Spitz. Her family was rounded out by her two six year old fish.
When Myrna's retirement finally came in 2016 from Walmart as a photo technician, she was ready. She worked out many of the details in advance so that she could enjoy the time and not have to worry.
Myrna Santos Escolar passed away on August 11, 2019 at Spring Valley Hospital, Las Vegas, Nevada. Myrna died from complications of kidney disease. She is survived by her children Dennis, Dessa, and Mia; grandchildren Dustin, Zoe, Jillian, Kyle, Jaden, and Zia. Services were held at Christ the King Catholic Church, Las Vegas.
Myrna Santos Escolar was always drawn to what was measurable, practical and factual. She was a very competent person who expected competence from others. She could be headstrong and certain about the way things were supposed to be. She was determined in every aspect of her life and certain that she was usually right about things. She trusted her intuition over all else, even if it opposed the popular belief, and she had faith in her inner vision and speculations. She wanted to be acknowledged by others as having made a contribution to whatever she was working on. Her family and friends will miss her fierce determination, relentless innovations and analytic mind. She leaves with all those who knew her many wonderful memories.
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