As Filipino American History Month comes to a close, I find myself possessed by a nagging impulse to remind the people of Seattle that this celebratory month came to be thanks to the efforts of a woman in Seattle who is still doing the work of documenting and sharing the history of Filipino Americans to this day.
A woman in a fuzzy knee-length coat, one that sported her signature shade of bright red, made her way out of Immaculate Conception Church, Seattle’s oldest Catholic church located in the Central District, on a bright Sunday afternoon. She may be under 5 feet, but that didn’t stop her from standing tall. She was preparing herself to celebrate her 90th birthday with a cascade of family surrounding her.