Lucila Conde Oblena 1924-2024: A Century of Learning and Teaching

Lucila Conde Oblena, age 100 of Dallas, TX passed away on June 12, 2024, due to a brain aneurysm. Born on May 27, 1924, in Cavinti, Laguna Philippines, Lucila was a schoolteacher then a school principal in a career that spanned 47 years.

Her greatest achievement is mentoring thousands of young minds, wherein many of her students became very successful in their careers. Lucila's connection with them is so profound that even in her 80s and 90s, with the advent of the internet, she reconnected with many of them via social media.

Feisty even in her retirement, Lucila founded CLOTA (Cavinti Laguna Overseas Teachers Association) while living in California. She started a newsletter which connected former colleagues who were living on 4 continents. Always willing to help, Lucila volunteered at the Navy Family Service Center Guam when her son-in-law Boyd was assigned at NCTAMS West Pacific.

Moving to Dallas in her 80s, Lucila became part of the Senior Companion Volunteer Program, where she met Dorothy Jones who would become her companion for over a decade. Their friendship was so strong that they became the poster pair for the program resulting in their being featured in the Dallas Morning News twice – in July 2015 and December 25, 2023.

Lucila never stopped learning, which is perhaps the reason why she kept a sharp mind until the day she died. She learned how to use a computer at 74, even insisted on owning a laptop so that she could always be online whether she was staying in Dallas or Los Angeles. She even had a Motorola Razr when it was the "It" cellphone then shifted to the iPhone when it was launched, perhaps becoming one of the few octogenarians who became Apple fans.

Ditching the laptop in lieu of the iPad was a foregone conclusion when the Apple tablet came out. Lucila kept it until it became too heavy for her to hold. After that, her iPhone became her main form of entertainment, using it to listen to podcasts and watch movies and videos on Netflix and YouTube.

For Lucila, it was a century of teaching and learning. Her teachings went beyond the classroom as she shaped the minds and characters of her students. She was a beacon of knowledge, showing those around her the power of education.

Lucila is preceded in death by her husband Macario Ruazol Oblena, her brothers-in-law Aquilino Ansay and Mamerto Belleza, her sister-in-law Lita Oblena Ansay, her son Medardo Conde Oblena, her sister Lilly Conde Belleza and grandnephew Hans M Winkenwerder.

Lucila is survived by her children Marienela and Boyd Davis; her grandchildren John Christopher Oblena and Marie Marguerite Oblena; Gemma Oblena, the widow of her son Medardo; nephews and nieces Sally and Steve Ansay, Cita and Sonny Belleza, Heide and Marc Winkenwerder, Helen and Joey Fe, Hilda and Glen Yamamoto; grandnephews and grandnieces Kyna and Nick Delfin, Kim Ansay, Ian Winkenwerder, Kristina Fe, Kassy and Dezel Montford, Madison Moreno, Sheridan Moreno; great grandnephew Lennon Winkenwerder and great grandnieces Aria Winkenwerder and Malia Montford.