Alicia Abores Alburo

Our Beloved Mimi ---
The only thing more striking than her pose was her life.

Alicia Abores Alburo was born on July 18, 1939 in Talisay, Cebu, Philippines, the 2nd of 7 children to Crispiniano and Fidelina Abores. She started her role as a breadwinner early, lying about her age when she was 16 years old so she can get a job at the Cebu Provincial Capitol. She later earned her Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Visayas (UV), where she also worked as an instructor, and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1966.

Alicia married Agaton Alburo in 1962,but their life together was cut short when he was assassinated in 1972. With 6 children depending on her, she got a job as a lawyer at the Philippine National Bank in Bogo, Cebu, working there during the week and only coming home on weekends. She worked there until 1985, when she then immigrated to Los Angeles, California with her children. She worked as a legal secretary, first at a law office, then in the Appellate Division of the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office, until she retired in late 2014.

Alicia loved to travel, going to some countries in Asia while still living in the Philippines. Once in the US, she traveled to several states, to Canada, numerous countries in Europe and the Middle East, and more places in Asia. Since she had not been to Latin America, she went to Peru with her daughters for her 70th birthday, where she hiked in and around the Amazon jungle, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca. For her 75th birthday, she hiked (and twerked) around Anacapa Island, one of the Channel Islands, with most of her clan. A month later, she hiked up, slowly but surely, to Inspiration Point on the Jenny Lake trail in Grand Teton National Park. Through all these travels, and at any gathering, you will find her raring to pose for the cameras.

Alicia passed away on March 11, 2015 in her home in Eagle Rock. In her death, she joins her husband (after being separated for almost 43 years) and her son, Joseph Lester, who passed away in 2012. She is survived by 5 children (Raycarlos , Allan Agaton, Jiji-Anne, Alice Jade, and Anthony Jude), 9 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.