Lourdes Matanane

Lourdes came into the world the youngest of 8 children, to a loving mother and father on the Pacific island of Guam in the February of 1927. Her mother passed away while she was still an infant and was raised by the most part by her father and older sisters. Although a wartime invasion brought many unthinkable childhood memories she managed to share many endearing moments growing up on her fathers’ ranch while being the youngest in her family. She often told stories of climbing wild coconut trees, feeding the chickens and hogs, and going to market with her father. She often shared her first known interaction with her future husband Carlos. Carlos was a choir boy at the local church. She described being in church service and suddenly hearing what she described as “a voice from heaven, an angelic sound that was so pure and sweet…” She knew he was a kind and gentle soul. They ultimately became husband a wife and made their way to the west coast of California to raise their family of four boys. She was a devoted mother of four boys and dedicated her life to raising them with an honor to God and to always be kind and caring to others. Her faith in God is what kept her strong and able to endure many trying times including war as a child and raising children alone while her husband was away serving in 3 wars as a chef in the Navy to many top ranking admirals. She was a self sufficient soul, doing what was needed to get things done. She once taught herself to drive a stick shift driven car by sneaking out in the early morning to a nearby vacant lot to practice. She did this to surprise her husband and pick him up in Long Beach after a long tour of duty. He needless to say was very impressed with her efforts. As the years went by she found it necessary to help make ends meet by taking on part-time jobs to help stretch the budget during lean times but for the most part she preferred being a mother to her children and being there for relatives, friends and most of all family. She later became a Registered nurse assistant, motivated by her love of children, to help those in need at a local Childrens’ Hospital. She will be remembered most for her loving nature, her devotion to family and her deep faith in God. A faith that kept her strong in the face of adversity and a need to be there for anyone that needed her.