Emilia Neri
May 28, 1944 - May 4, 2016

On May 4, 2016 God called one of his angels home. In April of 2015 Emilia Garcia Neri was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, after fighting for 13 months, she took her seat next to the Lord. She is survived by her husband Loreto, her three children: Larry, David, and Theresa, and three grandchildren: Christian, Chloe, and Chancellor.

On May 28th, 1944 Emilia was born in San Gabriel, Macabebe, Pampanga, Philippines. Her thirst for knowledge was evident at an early age as she would often keep her siblings on task when it came to their studies. This thirst culminated when she graduated from University of Santo Tomas in 1965, a Catholic University in the Philippines, with a Bachelor's of Science in Pre-Med. She was the only child out of four brothers and one sister to attend and graduate from college.

Emilia was extremely intelligent and driven and aspired to be a nurse. Due to monetary constraints she was unable to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse in the Philippines. Convinced there were more opportunities outside of the Philippines, in 1969, she decided to follow her brother Cesar's footsteps and start a life in the United States. Her first job in the U.S. was as a "Candy Striper" or Nurse's Aid at Lakewood General Hospital. Always striving to learn more, she decided to take a course to be a Key Punch Operator for US Computer. Next, she held a position as a Data Entry Specialist at the State of Washington. Ultimately, she was hired as Budget Manager at the Department of Retirement Systems where she managed a $200 million budget until her retirement on May 2nd, 2002.

Emilia was a fab, strong, and selfless woman. Being "fab" as she would call it meant being dressed to the T, but it was her "fab" beauty inside that made her special. Her love was infectious and made people want to be near her. This was illustrated at Virginia Mason as it wasn't long before she won every nurse and doctor over in the cancer unit. Nurses would often drop by just to visit even when they moved her to a different area of the hospital. Although small in stature (she was only 5' 3"); she's the strongest woman I've known. Before battling pancreatic cancer, she battled breast cancer, forcing it into remission. Even though she was fighting the most important battle of her life, she remained "selfless". She was always worried about being a burden and how the rest of the family was doing, while somehow maintained order and continued to be the backbone of our family while battling cancer. Although she will be missed, she will never be forgotten. It is said that God gives the toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. She definitely was one of his strongest as her faith in God and his plan never wavered. Now she sits beside God watching over us from above being fab, strong, and selfless. God may have you in heaven Emilia but we will FOREVER HAVE YOU IN OUR HEARTS. We love you so much, Mom.

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