Ester R. Acda's Obituary
Ester Ramirez Acda passed away at home in Union City on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. She was 83 years old.The youngest of seven children, Ester was born on April 24, 1934 in the Philippines (Talon, Las Piñas, Rizal). She was valedictorian of her graduating high school class of 1950 at Rizal Central College. A beauty as well as a scholar, she was also elected Miss Senior that year. She continued her studies at Far Eastern University and graduated in 1956 with an Elementary Teacher’s Certificate and a Bachelor of Science in Education. Ester worked for several years as an elementary school teacher before marrying her husband of forty-five years, Cresencio “Cris” Acda, in 1961.The newlyweds lived wherever Cris was stationed by the U.S. military (first the Army and later Navy). They spent some time in Saigon, then returned to Las Piñas for the birth of their oldest child, a son named Ged. The Acdas soon moved stateside and lived in Oakland (daughter Joyce’s birthplace), Lemoore (youngest daughter Jennifer’s birthplace), and Alameda before settling in Union City in 1972. Union City would become Ester’s home for the next forty-six years.Encouraged by her daughter’s 5th grade teacher, who learned that Ester had once been a teacher herself in the Philippines, Ester returned to the classroom in 1978 and worked part-time as a Teacher’s Aide in the ESL (English as a Second Language) Program at Alvarado Middle School. With her warm and energetic personality, she immediately bonded with her students – new arrivals from Vietnam, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Mexico, and many other countries. Her students affectionately called her “Mommy Acda.” After more than twenty years, Ester retired from the New Haven Unified School District in 2000.Ester was a fiercely protective mother to her special needs son, Ged, and worked hard to ensure his care and comfort. Her toughness and grit came from defending her first child from those who didn’t understand him. She shielded him from criticism, and was defensive when people assumed he wasn’t capable of thinking or feeling emotion; autism unfortunately was not as well understood back then. Yet instead of calling him stupid or retarded, she praised his efforts and accepted him on his own terms. For decades, she supported and cared for him and, though it isolated her, never left his side.Ester was preceded in death by her parents, Sotero Ramirez and Ambrocia Padua; her brothers Dominador, Manuel, Segundo, Lorenzo, and Jose; and her sister Lucia. Her husband Cris passed away on January 24, 2006. Their son Ged passed away on October 21, 2016. His ashes will be buried with his mother.Ester is survived by her daughter Joyce, son-in-law Chris, and their children Lucy, Maggie, and Jonah; daughter Jennifer, son-in-law Jim, and their children Indiana, Zachary, Sydney, Benjamin, and Maxwell; and her many loving nephews, nieces, and godchildren in the United States, the Philippines, and abroad.Visitation will be held on Friday, February 16, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes in Hayward. The funeral mass will take place on Saturday, February 17, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Union City. Committal services/interment will be held immediately following the mass at Chapel of the Chimes.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to the American Heart Association in Ester’s name. Thank you for your lifelong love and support of our Nanay…God bless.
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