Celedonia Bautista Centeno
March 3, 1937 - May 7, 2025

Celedonia Bautista Centeno, a loving daughter, sister, friend, and a beloved mother, affectionately known by many as "Ma Cel", passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 7, 2025, leaving behind a lifetime of happy memories. She was preceded in death by her parents, Concepcion and Crisanto; her husband, Cresencio; and her first child, Ella. Ma was born in the Philippines on March 3, 1937. As a child during the Japanese occupation, her most treasured possessions were a foot-long toy piano, porcelain tea set, and a doll in a shoebox she carried while fleeing Manila. Throughout her youth, she shared the company of her beloved cats and dogs.

Mama was a midwifery graduate before she married my Dad, and although she prioritized her family, she continued to pursue self-improvement and education; enrolling in night classes for food processing, baking, dressmaking, batik, hair styling, macrame, beading, embroidery and papier mache. Our childhood was filled with learning experiences as she often brought home items for show and tell. Ma was well known for her delicious cooking, especially classic Filipino dishes, always made from scratch.

In the 1970s she joined Mother Butler Guild of the Philippines, where they sang in a choir during mass and sang carols at Christmas. They were tasked with caring for the Santo Niño and the saint statues in Tondo Church.

At 52, she achieved her childhood dream to learn to play the piano. She also took swimming lessons in her 50's so she could be more comfortable in the water. As an avid outdoorsman, she loved lake fishing, shore fishing, crabbing, camping and clam digging. In 2001 she traveled to Greece and went island hopping, including Mary's House or "Meyermana Evi" located on Mt. Koressos or "Mount Nightingale" in Turkey.

Her faith and fortitude helped her face life's challenges including a move to a new country in 1979, her divorce in 1987, breast cancer diagnosis in 1995, the devastating loss of her first born child Ella in 2022, and finally, Dementia with Lewy Bodies. In spite of the latter, her good nature and sense of humor never wavered.

She is survived by her children Judyanne, Dyna, Allen, Jovy and Cris; her brother Rey; her sister-in-law Tess; her sons-in-law Manuel and Robert; her grandchildren Kelsey, Mariah and Joshua. We will profoundly miss her generosity, her thoughtfulness, her great sense of humor, her home cooking, and her love of music (kokak).

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