MERCELITA OCHOA

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MERCELITA OCHOA (née YUMANG) June 1, 1952 - June 17, 2016 It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dearest wife and mother, Mercelita Ochoa (née Yumang), on June 17, 2016 at the age of 64. After a brief battle with illness, Mercelita went to heaven to be with Lord Jesus and to reunite with her parents and brother. Left to cherish her memories are her spouse of 36 years, Felicisimo; her sons, Jordan (wife Erlyn, granddaughter Abigail, grandson Gabriel) and Joel (wife Jazelle, granddaughter Keri). Mom came to Canada in 1974, at the age of 22, in order to provide for her family back in the Philippines. She left behind her nine brothers and sisters, and her mother. Mom lost her father when she was only 14 years old and sadly due to poverty, she was unable to finish school. She was aspiring to become a teacher or a nurse, but Mom had to drop out of school at an early age to help provide for her family. After years of various work and learning to operate sewing machines, an opportunity came for seamstress workers in Canada. Her mom (our grandmother Elena Yumang) was very reluctant to let her go, but Mom knew it was the only way to a better life. Mom knew nothing about Canada, nor did she know anyone when she first arrived. Putting aside her loneliness, Mom only had one goal in mind and that was to one day bring her family to Canada too. Through countless blessings from the good Lord, she met some lifelong friends. It was through these friendships that Mom began to root her legacy. Some of these notable people were Trining Macanlalay, Levi Guevarra, Edgar Rodas, Josie Sardena and Amelia Yumang. Mom and Dad got married in 1980, in the same year she sponsered him from the Philippines. She slowly began to grow her family when she brought over her mother and her siblings to Canada, in the early 1980s. Shortly after, Dad brought over his siblings from Philippines too. Numerous cousins had come as well and soon Mom had a very large extended family, in which she took great pride knowing she and Amelia were the first originators. Mom had renal failure in the late 1990s requiring dialysis, but Mom remained strong at heart and was blessed to be a kidney transplant recipient for over 16 years! This brief encounter with illness only made her a stronger person. Mom was known for being very religious and extremely grateful for all her blessings. Prayer was a very big part of her life and she was well known within the Catholic community. Mom enjoyed travelling, reading, singing church hymns and being in the company of family and friends. But what Mom enjoyed most was being with her grandchildren that referred to her as "Mamita". She never let a day go by without telling them how much she loved them! Mercelita's lamay will be held on Thursday, June 23 and Friday, June 24 at Glen Lawn Funeral Home, 455 Lagimodiere Blvd., 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, June 25, 1:00 p.m. at St. Edward's Church. The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to the staff of Health Sciences Centre Renal Transplant Clinic, St. Boniface CancerCare, the palliative home care nurses, and most importantly - to all her family and friends for their love and support throughout her life and especially in her final days. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Canada and CancerCare Manitoba. Family and friends may sign a Book of Condolence at www.glenlawn.ca Glen Lawn Funeral Home 204-982-7550

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 21, 2016