Levita Robles Villadiego

Levita Robles Villadiego was born in San Pablo City in the province of Laguna on December 22, 1916 to Margarita Florentino and Ciriaco Adriano Robles. She was the 4th of five children. Her family eventually settled in Candelaria Quezon.

In 1938, she graduated from the prestigious University of the Philippines (UP) with a Bachelor of Science in Education with Home Economics and Sociology as her major.

Before WWII she was a teacher at Luis Palad High and Quezon Provincial High where she met and then married Dr. Arsenio Alcala Villadiego. Together they had five children, four of whom are present here today; Ethel, Rosario, Haidee and Ferdinand. In addition to having full time careers of their own, the couple ran a pharmacy, Lolo's dental practice, and owned a namarco (wholesale distributor of goods to the local grocery stores in Sariaya).

Levita bravely tackled life's challenges with immeasurable dignity and grace as was evident when at the age of 53 she became widowed and was left to raise her 4 children and yet never felt the need to remarry.

Her hobbies included baking wedding cakes, gardening and sewing. She was an excellent seamstress, fashioning everything from nursing uniforms to special occasion gowns not only for herself and for her family but for those who asked. Levita finally retired in 1981 after almost 20 years of civil service as a government auditor for the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). She was not afraid of work and often found saying "hindi dapat ikahiya ang magtrabaho ang masama ay magnakaw" (loosely translates to: you should never be embarrassed of working but rather what is shameful is when you resort to stealing).

One of Levita's endearing qualities was her love to offer help to anyone. Her life's motto has always been it is better to give than to receive and her entire life is a testament to that.

The night before she passed away, her nurse noticed she was a little more jovial than usual to which Levita smiled and nodded in agreement. She died in her sleep the morning of October 7, 2015 just shy of her 99th birthday in San Diego. She is survived by her four children: Boots, Lelette, Gigi and Jojean and six grandchildren: Ferdinand Jr, Tiffany, Edwin, Marisel, Gilbert and Jennifer. She also leaves behind five great-grandchildren: Elyza, Micah, Eleia, Lyla and Noah… with #6 on the way -- Baby Boggess (due in 2016).