Ana Castro Champaco

After a lifetime of loving and sacrificing for her family, Ana Castro Champaco peacefully entered heaven on Jan. 14, 2016. She was 81 years old.

Born on April 7, 1934 in the village of Merizo, Guam to Mariano and Florentina Champaco, Ana was the third-oldest of 13 siblings and the oldest girl. She spent much of her youth performing chores both inside and outside of the house, as well as enjoying time with her brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles cousins and friends in the village.

In the fifth grade, Ana stopped attending school to help her mother tend to her siblings. This type of commitment and sacrifice for her family is something Ana chose throughout her life, and it is something her family never forgot. Following her mother’s passing in 1987, Ana was regarded as the matriarch of the Champaco family.

Ana worked different jobs throughout her life, including as a store cashier, at a dry cleaner and at a sugar cane business on Guam. In 1980, Ana left the island and moved to California, then Washington to join a handful of her brothers and sisters who had already relocated to the U.S. Initially, she shared an apartment in Port Orchard with Florentina to take care of her mother. After Florentina’s passing, she moved across town to live with her two youngest sisters - Toni and Chee - and their families, then again to live with Chee. Ana spent her final 10 years at Life Care Center in Port Orchard, where staff lovingly cared for and referred to her as one of their favorite residents.
Throughout her life, Ana was deeply religious. She would routinely lead family rosaries and novenas as the techa, and she would attend church whenever she was physically capable of doing so.

Personally, Ana enjoyed many of the simple things in life - fish, finadeni, coffee, pugua and pupulu. She loved playing bingo and card games with her family, especially Tres Siete (3-7) and Spades. She also loved watching game shows - everything from Wheel of Fortune to Jeopardy to The Price is Right to Family Feud to the Pyramid. She was an avid fan of the Seattle Mariners - which she would spend hours watching while drinking coffee at the dining table - and her favorite player by far was Edgar Martinez.

Even though she did not have any children of her own, Ana was surrounded by a large family who loved and cherished her throughout her life. She is preceded in death by her parents, Mariano and Florentina Champaco; siblings Pedro, Benjamin, Ponciano, Ramon, Mario, Antonio and Chee. She is survived by siblings Frank, Rose, Marie, Becky, and Toni, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

A memorial service honoring Ana Castro Champaco will take place at 11 a.m., Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 at St. Gabriel Church, 1150 Mitchell Ave., Port Orchard, Wash.