Rosario Santos Estrera

Rosario Santos Estrera was known as “Mommy ” and “Lola Rosing” to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was also fondly called “Rose” by her friends and “Rutching” by her relatives and friends from her hometown.  She was 87 years old when she peacefully passed away surrounded with her loved ones on Wednesday, February 08, 2023 at Affinity Healthcare Center in Paramount.

Born to Nicanor Santos and Rosario Garcia, and raised in San Miguel, Tarlac, Philippines, with her siblings, three sisters (Marie+, Leonor+, Puring+) and five brothers (Danding+, Sergio+, Jun+, Rey+, Romy+).  She was highly active in sports and was a varsity player of volleyball in high school in her hometown.  She studied at Slims Fashion in Manila and stayed with her older sister, Marie where she met her husband Pablo Estrera, known as “Pabling” in her sister’s canteen near the car exchange owned by his brother-in-law, Peping Galvez. They lived in the Estrera family compound in Paco, Manila.  They were blessed with three children, all girls; Girlie, Suzette & Sylvette. She became a widow in June 1997. She had nine grandchildren and two great grandsons.

She loved life and fun, she enjoyed going skating at Agripina Circle in Luneta Park with Pablo and her children when they were growing up.  Sundays were always a family day starting with going to mass, doing grocery together, or going to Roxas boulevard for exercise or the seafood market.

It was easy for her to make new friends be it in her daughters’ kindergarten school, in her neighborhood in Paco, or the Agripina circle. She loved going out with her friends in her younger years.  Among her favorite restaurants were Aristocrat (Roxas Boulevard) and Hizon’s (J. Bocobo). She also loved to try new dishes and enjoyed going out to restaurants and taking vacations with her family. She had been to Boracay, Palawan, Mt. Mayon, Hundred Islands, Baler and Quezon in the Philippines.

She was a very caring wife and mother to all her children, grandchildren/ great grandchildren. She was a good cook, prepared great meals for the family and lovingly prepared tasty sandwiches for her children’s school “baon”.  She also taught everyone how to be frugal and even started savings for her grandchildren.  Her grandchildren had fun memories of her “kwarta o kahon” gifts during Christmas time.

She is well loved by her siblings, and relatives from the Santos clan.  One of her nieces fondly remembers how she loved going to Paco to visit with her father and brothers during Christmas. When she went to Tarlac, she always had happy stories to share and would caringly ask how her nieces and nephews were doing.

Her entrepreneurial spirit and success with her small general store are very impressive. From selling “Vonnel fabrics” in her younger years to putting up a mini store, it flourished and did well until she migrated to the US in 2007 with her only granddaughter, Genelli.

Rosario is such a remarkable woman who lived a meaningful life and devoted her life for caring for her family. She is remembered by her family as someone who loved to pray fervently for her loved ones and had very strong faith in God.

Her love for her family, generosity to others, her passion for cooking, storytelling and her dedication to her business, sports and her religion are all admirable traits. She had a positive impact on the lives of those around her that she will be dearly missed and will continue to live on in the hearts of her loved ones and friends. May her soul rest in peace.