Orquidia Flores-Valenzuela, Co-Editor of Munting Nayon News Magazine has died at the age of 81

 

By Gerardo “Ged” Valenzuela Flores
Nieuwegein-The Netherlands
November 30, 2018
 


It was an awkward day. Realizing you’re waking up on the day of your mom’s funeral service and cremation. This was last Friday November 30, 2018 in the Crematorium Noorderveld in Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.



Looking back, somehow it seems ages ago due to all the arrangements we needed to make in an almost impossible time frame. November 25 will never be the same. It’s the day my mom unexpectedly passed away in St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.



She was rushed into hospital the Friday before to have a minor surgery concerning her intestines. Saturday evening everything seemed fine. She was conscious, although she still was in a weak condition, she was making jokes and enjoying my dad’s company. Actually, my dad expected her to be in hospital for another 5 to 7 days before going home.

Unfortunately, and unexpectedly my mom’s vital organs (intestines, kidneys and severely weakened heart) failed and she passed away on Sunday November 25 due to complications at the age of 81.



My mom’s wish, which she had mentioned from time to time for the past few years, was to have a private funeral service attended by close friends and family only. We respected my mom’s wish. We had a beautiful private ceremony to honor my mom, pay tribute to her and say our last farewell.

As she was cremated, her ashes will be brought to the Philippines and will be added to the Valenzuela family grave in Malolos, Bulacan. She will join her parents Dr. Mario Lopez Valenzuela & Felisa Ramos Valenzuela, and her sister, my ninang (God-mother), Carminia Ramos Valenzuela.

My mom, Orquidia Flores-Valenzuela is survived by her husband Eddie Flores and her children Teresa & Luc and Gerardo “Ged” & Cecile.

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A tribute to my dearest mom Orquidia Flores-Valenzuela

By Gerardo “Ged” Valenzuela Flores

Welcome all, to this funeral service of my mom, Orquidia Flores-Valenzuela. I am her son Ged Valenzuela Flores and on behalf of our family I’m standing here to tell you more about our beloved mom and wife to my dad, Eddie Flores. 



My mom, my guiding light, my mentor in so many ways, we love and miss you so much.

Your good heart, kindness, intelligence, common sense and humor are just a few things that pop-up into my mind when I think of you. But these are merely a glimpse of the person that you are. To grasp a full picture of you I actually need weeks, months or even years, so I can tell everyone how wonderful you are in so many ways.

I am very grateful, fortunate and blessed to have you as my mom. Faith could have decided otherwise, but it was during that Christmas holiday, umuwi kayo para magpasko kayo sa Pilipinas (you went home to celebrate Christmas in the Philippines), when we first met at the convent of the Good Shepherds. I was just a baby and my sister Teresa was immediately fond of me when all of you arrived. Pero sabi niya tulo laway ako (but she said I was drooling), but nonetheless, you, dad and Teresa immediately loved me from that day on, and brought me along with you back to the Netherlands.



As we grew up we enjoyed your stories about our relatives abroad and the days when you were young. It wasn’t always easy as we were the only ones of both the Valenzuela and Flores clan living in Europe. So, as kids we never experienced regular family reunions. But you kept us updated on who is who, and through pictures and stories we were able to recognize them and were able to get to know our relatives. Some have visited us from time to time in that far, far away galaxy called the Netherlands. No, without kidding, we kept in touch with relatives abroad through my parents. I’ve been to the Philippines several times and on different occasions I was there with my mom. And it’s great to see that she’s loved by so many relatives and people. Actually she is the linking pin to so many relatives I met over the years. If it had not been for her I wouldn’t have known half of the family and stories that came along with them.

You were always supportive in whatever endeavors we had. Sports, music, other hobbies or just running around the house and accidentally breaking stuff. Oh no, that last one is just me. I guess, you were supportive there in a parental guidance way. Anyway, you never pushed us, but actually stimulated us to succeed in our own interests. But the most important of all, you just wanted us to be happy no matter what. We should always count our blessings.

Talking about food. You are an excellent cook, the best! My Dutch friends loved coming over as they knew there was always room for an extra person during dinner time. I remember so vividly how you would cook and make siopao , longanisa , pancit luglug , champorado , chicken adobo and many, many more. You could whip up a meal in no time. During Christmas you always cooked and made stuffed turkey with cranberry sauce. So juicy and so delicious. I remember though, one time we had Christmas dinner at one of your friends’ house. The turkey was so dry, I told my sister: “This is not mom’s turkey!” Another funny story my sister- in-law told me recently, is that she still remembers my mom’s delicious spareribs. She ate my mom’s spareribs once which was more than sixteen years ago when she came along with us to visit my parent. Of course there were also days when we were ‘forced’ to eat the healthy stuff. You know, those green things called vegetables. I wasn’t allowed to leave the table until I finished eating those vegetables. Which went quite well for a short period. Until mom started smelling something rotting and moved the audio speaker next to the dinner table. Or the time when I was a toddler and hid food I didn’t like behind a painting at Hilton Hotel. This supposedly happened, at least according to mom’s version of the story.

And then there is music. I learned about classical music from both mom and dad. You have an extensive collection of classical music with composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. But also operas of Verdi and Bizet and not to forget one of your favorite tenors, Enrico Caruso. But your all-time favorite is Frédéric Chopin. And learning how to play the piano was part of our upbringing. You purposely played Chopin on the piano just to get me exposed to his music. Eventually your favorite classical composer Chopin became my favorite too. In addition, your musical influence turned out to be really important to me as I compose contemporary classical music nowadays and besides that I am also a pop/rock singer-songwriter in my limited spare time. I bet that your influence is that far reaching that my sister Teresa is able to play Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Menuet in G major” even though she hasn’t played piano for decades.

Mom was always proud of us. Proud of my dad for the man who he is. The love of her life, her soulmate and the one who started the Munting Nayon News Magazine to support the Filipino community with news and views of Pinoys (Filipinos) around the world. Proud of us kids, even when we came home from school with that ugly handmade ashtray or painting where you kind of had to figure out what you are really looking at. But also proud of my sister’s jewelry business with beautiful necklaces and bracelets. Or that time when I graduated from the Erasmus University, and those other times like our weddings. Teresa got married to Luc, Cecile and I had a simple but beautiful wedding. Yes, she was also proud of Luc and Cecile who she loves as her own.



But besides our family and relatives my mom was also supportive to others and always there to help people in need. You joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and was assigned to the Philippine Embassy here in The Hague. You and dad came to the Netherlands in January 1966, after a stop-over and tour in Egypt. It all worked out well as dad had a job at an American company near the Philippine Embassy.



Actually from the start both of you were involved with the Filipino community here in the Netherlands. Visiting and helping Oversees Filipino Workers (OFWs) who came to Netherlands and were scattered across the country in different towns. It didn’t matter if they are in need or just needed someone to talk with, you were there for them. A tough decision for a young woman with an upcoming career, but you decided to resign from DFA and choose for family life. To think of it, I remember you told me a few years ago that at the time one of your friends offered you a job at the World Bank in Washington. Talking about major career opportunities. Pero napakalikot ako dati (but I was so super active then). Our yaya (nanny) couldn’t handle me.



Anyway, choosing for family life didn’t mean that mom was just a house wife. Oh no, mom maintained being involved with the Filipino community and stayed in touch with her network and dear friends. My parent stayed in touch with the Philippine Embassy over the years. Actually, I found out years later that it was my mom who organized the first Filipino Independence Day celebration at Zuiderpark in The Hague.

 

But she was also president and treasurer for years at “Samahan sa Netherlands”. My parents organized events such as Munting Nayon’s Music Matinee and Munting Nayon’s Gala Concert. To mom’s delight I even played Quatre -mains (four hands) piano of a Kundiman (traditional Filipino love songs) with another Pinoy during the Gala Concert. Mom encouraged us to participate in cultural Filipino activities and events. As we should not forget our Filipino heritage and culture. Several times I was the designated person, dancing the Tinikling , Singkil , and even portraying a black Datu in an Ati-Atihan (is a festival in Kalibo, Aklan) cultural activity. Mom came up with these creative plans to share Filipino culture with others and organized and coordinated most of them.



Mom raised us to have a mind of our own, to be a critical thinking Filipino. Do not take things for granted, or merely as a given fact. If necessary, question issues and ventilate your thoughts without being bastos (impolite). So, whenever I would write an article for Munting Nayon or otherwise, she would be my editor. Only after consulting her, her corrections and approval I would have my articles published.



One of the things I admire most about my mom is her kindness and good heart. She was not maramot (selfish) and though well-raised in a local prominent family, she never looked down on people. For her it wasn’t about wealth or status, it is about the person you really are. Once she told me, if you take away someone’s belongings and clothes you will really see someone’s character.

I have so many fond memories of her and our family. I’m happy to know she had a good life with my dad and us children. Especially as she had been traveling around the world with relatives from time to time for the past two decades.



As I said in the beginning, I could go on, and on and on. But for now it’s time to say farewell.

To my dearest mom Orquidia, you are loved and missed by so many and have touched so many people you wouldn’t have imagined you ever did. We love and miss you so much and may you smile upon us from Heaven. Until we meet again mom.

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TRIBUTE TO ORCHID FLORES

By Coni Ledesma

Dear Eddie, Teresa and Luc, Ged and Cecile,

Our hearts are heavy as all of us here offer you our deepest condolences on the sudden and untimely passing of our dear Orchid.

 

I think all of us and her many friends in the Netherlands and around the world,  are still in shock and disbelief that she is no longer with us.

Louie and I have known Eddie and Orchid for sooooo many years, I cannot even remember what year it was when we first met.  What I do know is that I was reading Munting Nayon even before I met them.  I loved reading Munting Nayon every month because then I would know all the activities of Filipinos in the Netherlands.  And later, of Filipinos in other countries around the world.  The magazine gave me a sense of being part of a large community of Filipinos living outside the Philippines.  Eddie and Orchid put in a lot of hours a month to ensure that the publication would come out on time.  

When Louie and I met Orchid and Eddie, it was chemistry.  We became instant friends.  The warm heartedness and openness of Orchid and Eddie made us feel at home with them; that we had been friends forever.  And I guess this trait of both of them is why they have so many friends.

We spent many hours enjoying each other's company.  Visits to their home were always relaxing moments.  After the meal, there was always karaoke, and Eddie would cajole Orchid to sing Do You Love Me with him.

I remember the time, several years ago, (I'm not good at remembering the exact year), that Orchid, Eddie, Louie and I went to London to watch Fiddler on the Roof.  We had seen the advertisement and decided we would go and watch the musical.  We booked ourselves in a small hotel, which we thought would be a comfortable hotel, but which disappointed us a bit. 

But we enjoyed each other's company.  After watching Fiddler on the Roof, we decided to watch another play.   This time, we chose the famous Mousetrap by Agatha Christi.   But after the vibrant Fiddler on the Roof, the slow dialogue of the Mousetrap was a letdown. And we all guessed who the killer was before it was made known in the end. 

We had planned on going to London again to watch another musical, but, that never materialized.

Another memory.  In the 1990's and early 2000, peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines were held in the Netherlands. Eddie and Orchid were always invited to cover the talks.  Eddie with his ready camera documented the events.  What Eddie probably doesn't realize is that he has the most complete documentation of the peace talks that were held in the Netherlands during those years.  Orchid and Eddie were present when history was being made, and they are part of that history.

When Tony Zumel, Ruth's husband and Aya's father passed away, Orchid and Eddie were among the first persons we phoned to tell them the sad news.  They rushed to the hospital, also the St. Antonius Ziekenhuis, to grieve with Ruth, Aya and the rest of us.  Ironically, it would also be in the same hospital where decades later, Orchid would also pass away.



 Several years ago, Orchid had the idea for senior Filipinos to live together - in separate apartments, but in one building, so we could help one another and also form a community together.  She broached the idea to me, and together we called on other friends and we formed a group where we would work to get a place where we could all live together.

We called our group Tahanan.  We were able to contact a woning bouw coroporatie who assigned someone from their corporation to help us. We had several meetings with this person.  She brought us to different places where seniors of the same nationality lived as a woongroep. 

As Tahanan, we also had other activities.  We went to see Dionne Warwick at the Jaaarbeurs.  We went to The Hague to visit the Peace Palace and then enjoy Chinese food in a nice restaurant.  We watched the play directed by Dirk Marks. These were some of the activities we did together.  We had other activities, but my senior mind can't remember them all. We were a community.

I think those of you here who were part of Tahanan will remember other activities we did together.

Unfortunately, as the years passed, the woningbouw corporatie could not provide our housing needs.  And little by little, each of us realized that we preferred to stay on in our own homes rather than move out.  Tahanan fizzled out.  

But Tahanan taught me one thing.  It doesn't matter where we live, the distance, the different cities.  It doesn't matter if we don't see each other very often.  As long as the friendship is there, there is community.

Orchid must be very happy today.  Her community is together again. 

And as we say good bye to her today, we know we are only saying goodbye to her physical presence.  Because in our hearts, Orchid will be with us forever.

Paalam, Orchid.

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A Tribute to My Dear Sister Quiding

By Wilfredo (Sonny) Valenzuela

Los Angeles-California

Read by Teresa Limburg-Flores

My four older sisters left the Philippines for abroad when I was in my teens.  Our eldest Orchidia (Quiding, as we fondly called her) left for the Netherlands in 1965 to work at the Philippine Embassy in The Hague.  It had been just over a year since she and Eddie got married.



Six years later, I left for the United States to pursue graduate studies.  I did not see Quiding for eleven years, until she visited America with their two young kids Teresa and Ged.  But eleven years of separation did not diminish our closeness as siblings.  Three years later, I went to the Netherlands to visit them and pick up my US permanent resident visa at the US Consulate in Rotterdam.

It was my first trip to Europe.  It was December, but in spite of the cold, I so totally enjoyed my stay with Quiding and Eddie that for years to come I took regular trips to Europe to visit them.  I stopped by the Netherlands even when I was on business trips or visiting other friends in Europe.  I looked forward to those trips knowing that there was a hospitable family that would always gladly welcome me in IJsselstein.  I met their closest friends who also treated me as one of their own.

We travelled together to many places in Asia and America, too.  In Europe, Quiding and Eddie typically arranged a cruise or a road trip for visiting family members.  The memories of all those great vacations will always remain in my heart.  We saw countless places in Europe while thoroughly enjoying our family bonding experience. We brought kitchen implements with us on our road trips so we could cook or heat up our lunch in a park.  Jokes, surprises and adventures were plentiful, including getting worryingly lost in unfamiliar places we visited.  Quiding was typically at the center of it all with her quick-witted humor.  I equated my trips to Europe to seeing my dear sister and her family.  When I was back home, we would have, as Eddie observed, lengthy conversations on the phone about all sorts of topics.  Future trips to Europe will never be the same without Quiding to welcome me there.



Quiding was a generous and selfless person, giving what she could without expecting anything in return.  She was never demanding.  Not one to impose or complain, she would take it upon herself to do everything if she was capable of it at all.  She firmly held on to her convictions while remaining supportive, compassionate and empathetic.  You could talk to her about anything and she would listen to you with an open mind.  Her words of comfort were nurturing and encouraging to others.



We have lost a precious sister, wife, mother and friend.  The world has lost a remarkable individual.  I am overcome with sadness.  But I am very grateful for all the years of kindness, love and support she generously gave.  I will miss her so much.

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A tribute to Orquid

By Irma Galias, read by Edna Njio-Mijares

I first met Orquid in November 1967 when I went to Holland to work for Berghaus in Wehl. She was then Secretary to the Ambassador at the Philippine Embassy in The Hague. I found out that her cousins were former piano pupils of mine in St. Paul's College, Quezon City. I used to visit the Philippine Embassy in The Hague with my friend Bernie who also had a former co-teacher living with her sister who was the Philippine consul at that time.



In 1971, after I went back to Holland to re-connect with my Dutch friend I encountered problems with my tourist visa. Orquid suggested that I apply as casual worker at the Philippine Embassy which I did and was accepted by the late Mr. J. Garcia, Administrative Officer. After  several months Orquid mentioned that the Liberian Embassy was looking for a secretary to the Liberian Ambassador. Why don't you apply she said the salary was three times as much as what you are getting now. So I applied, she gave me a crash course in steno and I could type (just like playing the piano) was interviewed , accepted and asked to work immediately. I worked at the Liberian Embassy for about two years.

Through the ensuing years my friendship with Eddie and Orquid flourished. I met their siblings and celebrated Birthdays and special occasions with their respective families. I joined Samahan Stichting and was an active member even when we were living abroad. During our holidays in   Holland we would join in their activities. Orquid was one time President of Samahan and was always an active and dedicated member.

But then, in 1992 Igot stuck in a quagmire and spent several years shunning friends and social activities. I used to spend months in Manila in the comfort of my family. A chance encounter with Jed, their son in Manila in 1997 led to a phone call from Orquid inviting me to participate in a concert which the late Carmencita Lozada, concert violinist was planning featuring young talented Filipino musicians in Holland. At first I balked at the idea and demurred - I wasn't ready to come out of my cocoon. Can I accept this challenge??? But with encouraging words and Eddie and Orquid's complete confidence in me, I   finally agreed. And so I slowly came out of my hibernation and as I once wrote in an article, rose out like a Phoenix emerging from the ashes.



At one point around 1998, Orquid bailed me out when I encountered financial problems with the Belastingdienst (tax office) in Holland. She admonished me not to tell anyone of her good deed - "sa atin-atin lang   ito" for which I was so grateful for her generosity.

Through the ensuing years I played in concerts organized by Munting Nayon, Bayanihan Foundation and in other Filipino events. I also played during Eddie and Orquid's 35th Wedding Anniversary, musical evenings at their home in Ijsselstein with Ambassador Arguelles who loves to sing and play the piano, Rica Nepomuceno, classical singer from Bologna, Italy, during their daughter Teresa's wedding and at their Golden Wedding Anniversary with Mary Ann Morales singing their requested song My Prayer.

We met occasionally in Manila where we spend half a year escaping Autumn and Winter season after my retirement in 2010.

Oh yes, Orquid, we will surely miss you but the memories will always be there.

Rest In Peace Dear Friend.

Eddie, keep strong, we're here along with countless of your friends to support you in your time of sorrow with our prayers and loving thoughts of your Beloved Orquid.

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Photography during funeral service by Y.F. Chan