Mama Lally

Even by the most stringent standards, my mother, Lilia Socorro Cabahug Sanchez Pascual, would rank among the best mothers on Earth.

She raised ten children, primarily through her efforts, and with the able assistance of my father, Cornelio C. Pascual in 1946.

Jose Meneleo(Dodong) a lawyer, who would have been a candidate for the papacy, had he not jumped the concrete fence of the Seminario Menor de San Carlos. He is a practicing lawyer in Cebu City.

Socorro Catherine (Nenette) who compensated her lack of acting skills by marrying one of the greatest actors bred in Cebu, the late Joe Pritchard, a medical doctor. Together, Joe and Nenette did it the hard way in the United States, until Joe became one of the most prominent physicians in Logan, West Virginia. They have three children: Joseph, Joshua and Jasmine. Nenette graduated as a medical technologist from the University of Santo Tomas

Lilia Natividad (Libeth) is a graduate of the best nursing school in Cebu ever, the SIH School of Nursing which was eventually absorbed into the CNU system, when a Bachelor’s degree became a requirement for registered nurses. She married Isagani Perez, a native of Danao City, a prodigious inventor of board games. They have two children: Brian and Justine. Libeth lives in Daly City, CA and works as a nurse in one of the hospitals in San Francisco.

Maria Florina(Yoyen) is a B.S. Statistics graduate of the University of the Philippines, and married to Redentor whom she met in UP Los Baños. When Reddy gained prominence as a manager and financial consultant, Yoyen left her job at Adidas, Phils. to take care of their children: Lizbelle, Redred, Angela and Richard. The Galuras continue to make home in Philam Homes, Quezon City.

Mariele (Riele) who claims to be the most beautiful among the sisters. She is married to Peter Lee, an executive at Mondragon Industries, who chose to abandon his budding career to follow Riele to the US (or was it vice versa, am not too sure anymore). They have one daughter, who is the spitting image of her mother, although a much better version. Riele finished her Mass Communication Degree at Saint Theresa’s College Cebu. The Lees live in Montrosse, California.

Pascual Cornelio (Jojin) is admittedly, the only artist in the family, and a very successful one at that. No one can stand head to head with him in the number of Sinulog Championships that Jojin has won over the years. Except his students and a few others, very few know that Jojin is a history and archaeology expert and once headed the History Department of the University of San Carlos, his alma mater, an edge that he has exploited to the hilt in making his presentations unique and diferent. Recently, he was appointed School Director of the Alfonso D. Tan College, in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, the home base of the Sinanduloy Dance Company.

Herve Cornelio (Irving) is probably the smartest among the ten. He dreamt being sent to UP like some of his brothers and sisters before him. But just like Mama’s dream of finishing her accountancy at the State University, Irving had to be content with a medical degree from the Divine Word University in Tacloban. He lives in the Bay Area, dabbling in real estate.

Fides Marie(Fides) is probably the best schooled among the ten. She was a scholar at the Cebu City Science High School and has a Degree in Development Communication. Her education and experience seems to be very marketable for she has always found a job where she did not have to neglect her family obligations. Fides is married to a scion of a prominent political family, the Almarios of Mati, Davao Oriental. Unlike his siblings however, Don chose to practice his profession as an IT professional in Los Angeles, CA. The Almarios have two gifted children: Matt, a recent graduate of Notre Dame University an Ivy League school in Indiana and Juliana.

Rainelda Isabel (Blinky or Rain) a medical technology graduate of the Cebu Doctor’s University. We almost lost Mama with her birth. Thanks to the diligence and expertise of Mama Naty and Tiya Pilang of the Cortes Clinic(now Ignacio Cortes General Hospital) Mama survived her difficult 10th delivery. Blinky plies her medical technology skills in Southern California and is married to Frank Punzalan of Concepcion, Tarlac.

I am the eldest. In Mandaue, I am called Babie. Among my acquaintances outside of Mandaue, I am Lito. At the USC College of Law, I was Papa Piolo. Very few people know this, but my second name is Pedro, namesake of my grandfather Pedro Logarta Sanchez. Our grandmother was Natividad Cabahug, both Lumad nga Mandauehanon. I was sent to the University of the Philippines, at a great sacrifice to my parents (my father had to stop smoking just so they could regularly send my monthly allowance) to fulfill a dream. I finished two degrees there, political science and law. I got married to the most beautiful girl in Mandaue at that time, Amosa Alivio Castañeda, the daughter of my mentor Gerardo E. Castañeda, and Amada Sanchez Alivio. I practiced law but got sucked into human resources as an executive of Atlas Consolidated Mining Corporation. Amie passed away on December 20, 2008. We have two children, Anna Tzeitel, a family physician in Roseville, California, married to Alan Abalos of Tacurong, Maguindanao and Adele May, a management consultant with Hewlett Packard. I have to include this (privilege of the person who holds the pen), Maymay and her husband Celino Cruz of Hagonoy, Bulacan have two children, Claire Antonette and Andres Joaquin. They make there home in Cainta, Rizal.

So there you are. The ten children of Lally and Nelio. All professionals. All living.

We are celebrating Mama’s 90th year on Saturday, August 3, 2013. We are having the celebration earlier, so that most of the grandchildren based in the United States can pay homage to one of the greatest mothers in the world.