Jovita De Leon

EAST BRUNSWICK - JOVITA DE LEON passed away on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, peacefully at home. She was 86 years old. Youngest granddaughter, Rio and son, Raymond held her hands. Eldest granddaughter, Vida and daughter-in-law, Gail were close by. Surrounded in love, never alone, she surrendered to God's will fully content. Jovita was born in Apalit Pampanga, Philippines to Sesinando and Rosario (nee Balagtas) De Jesus on February 15th, 1937, the fourth of six sisters. Though born to a family of meager means, Jovita and all her sisters overcame their circumstances to excel in their educational pursuits. In 1957 Jovita earned her Elementary Teacher's Certificate from Philippine Normal University. She went on to teach and continue her studies, earning a Bachelor of Science and Education Specializing in Math in 1963 from the University Of The East. In 1967 Jovita immigrated to the United States to Virginia Beach, and then to New York City in 1968 to begin her career as a social worker. In 1969 she attended a friend's birthday party and met a gregarious Jose De Leon. He became utterly infatuated with her. Their romance began with anonymous love letters he left on her Camaro....[more]

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August 3rd 1970, young, and in love, and in New York City, she married that gregarious man and they embarked on a forty-five year journey together. They would go on to raise their only child Raymond in the suburbs of New Jersey. Jovita continued her education, culminating in 1993 with a Master's Degree in Social Work from NYU before finally retiring in 1997. In retirement, Jovita was very active in prayer communities, enjoyed her gardening, cherished her granddaughters, but most of all loved dancing with her husband. They were devoted to each other, weathered the good and the bad, appreciating God's blessings in all things. Jovita is predeceased by her sisters Filomena, Maria Belen and Marcelina; and her beloved Jose, who passed in 2015. Surviving her are her sisters, Aurea and Josephina; her son, Raymond and her daughter-in-law, Gail; and her two grandchildren, Vida and Rio. Family and friends may visit on Friday, January 5, 2024, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm, at The BRUNSWICK MEMORIAL HOME, 454 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, NJ. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at 9:45 am, at the funeral home. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:30 am, at St. Bartholomew's Roman Catholic Church, East Brunswick, NJ. Cremation will be private. For directions, please visit our "Services" page. In lieu of flowers, the De Leon Family kindly requests memorial donations to be made to American Lung Association.