Stephanie Miranda Chen

"Stephanie Miranda Chen was born as Stephanie Encarnacion to her parents Dr. Jose B Encarnacion and Anita G. Reyes at Lourdes Hospital in Sta. Mesa near her childhood home. She grew up in Manila with her sister Joanne Santos, with whom she shared a room and gossiped until they left for college. She first attended Sta. Catalina College for Elementary and High School and graduated in 1985 as an honor student and received special recognitions. As a child, she enjoyed playing outside with her neighbors, singing and dancing for her family at home, and shopping with her sister. She once joined a school pageant and won as Ms. Kindergarten! She was also selected as a muse or cheerleader for her school's sporting events.

Shortly after graduating from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1987, Stephanie moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. She met her first husband there, Olivier Miranda and had two sons, Julian in 1997 and Justin in 1998, her pride and joys.

Stephanie separated from her first husband and relocated to Southern California where she worked as an executive assistant and an office manager for various companies. It was there that she met the love of her life, Van Chen and his children, Lydia and Bryan in 2002. Van and Stephanie quickly fell head over heels in love, and were married four years later in a fairytale wedding ceremony at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California in 2006.

In Riverside, this blended family formed deep bonds and love for each other as the children grew up together for over 20 years, with nights at the movies, trips all over the world, scuba and skiing adventures and countless hikes, preferably with their beloved dogs, Raibo and Pearly. She enjoyed regularly attending Mass at her church, St. Catherine of Alexandria, where she was passionate about her faith in Catholicism, and volunteered at their Feed the Hungry program that provided meals at a homeless shelter. She went on to become the point of contact person for this program at her church.

Stephanie had a passion for travel and loved musical theater and stage shows. An absolute favorite activity was planning date nights with Van to involve fine dining at romantic venues, perhaps followed by a show. A close second favorite activity was planning and participating in our wonderful family vacations. Her travels ranged from scuba diving throughout the Caribbean and exotic islands in the Philippines to walking tours to over 20 countries in Europe. Those that know her best, know that she has all the magnets to prove it!

Stephanie Miranda Chen passed away peacefully in her home on September 5th, 2023.

She is survived by her loving husband Van, her sister Joanne, her two sons Julian and Justin, her step-daughter Lydia, her step-son Bryan, and her miniature poodle Pearly. "

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AchesonandGraham.com for the Miranda Chen family.