Maria Mantac

Maria Tan Mantac, 95, was born in Sibalom, Antique, Philippines, to Julian Gella Tan Jongko (Insik Jonga) and Manuela Buton.  Of Insik Jonga’s nine offsprings, Maria is survived by two youngest siblings, Victoriano and Pio, both in the Philippines.  Maria graduated from the Philippine Normal School in Manila, the only teachers college in the Philippines during her time. She met and married a co-teacher, Hilario Mantac, when she was assigned to teach in Pandan, Antique, Hilario’s hometown.  She got widowed in 1965.  In 1974, she retired from teaching after 39 years of service, her last ten years as an Elementary School Principal.   Maria has four daughters and a son, namely, Elvessa Hernandez in San Diego, California; Thelma Ramos in Port Orchard, Washington; Rosemarie Salvador in Chino Hills, California; Mildred Importante in the Philippines; and Larry in Chino Hills, California.  She has 13 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.   She liked handicrafts, especially baskets and hats, and had produced some intricate creations from rattan and identical materials in her younger days.  She came to the United States in November 1974 and did her share of babysitting her grandchildren. Most of her 35 years of residence in the US were in Washington State with her daughter, Thelma.  She enjoyed traveling with her and seeing new places.  Gardening became her hobby later, and aside from planting flowers she also cultivated a vegetable garden.  Reading and crossword puzzles were part of her daily routine, but poetry was her passion.   She was a devout Catholic and was a parishioner of the St. Gabriel Church in Port Orchard.  A viewing at the Rill Chapel Funeral Home in Port Orchard will be on Monday, December 14, at 6:00 p.m. and a rosary/novena thereafter at 7:00 p.m.  The funeral mass will be held at St. Gabriel Church on December 15th at 11:00 a.m.