Erlinda Gelvezon Icasiano

It is with great sadness that the family of Erlinda Gelvezon Icasiano announce her passing on January 17, 2024 in her home.

She will be lovingly remembered and dearly missed by her husband of 57 years Eduardo Ablaza Icasiano, who was by her side when she passed, and her three children, Eduardo “Ted”, Eleanor and Evelyn. She was the beloved mother-in-law to Bert, Paulina and Andrew and grandmother to Julia, Rachel, Aidan, Liam and Kai. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews in many parts of the United States as well as France, Canada, Australia and in the Philippines.

She is predeceased by her 8 siblings Adolfo, Rhodora, Raul, Jesus Cesar Sr., Pericles Sr., Rolando Sr., Ninfa and Phoebe.

Erlinda was born on July 4, 1935 to Salvacion and Conrado in Guimbal, IloIlo, Philippines. She attended elementary school in Guimbal until World War II when she and family members sought refuge in the mountains during the Japanese occupation.  When the war was over she resumed her schooling in Guimbal.  She left for Manila to attend the University of the East and majored in Commerce where she received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.  She obtained her CPA license and worked as an accountant at the General Auditing Office of the Philippines where she met her soon-to-be husband.  They married in May of 1966 and lived together in Caloocan City where they started their family.

With hopes of opportunity and a better life they immigrated to the U.S. in 1971 with their four-year-old Ted and three-month-old Eleanor. Upon arriving, they lived in Wilmington, Delaware for a short period before settling in Union City, New Jersey.  Erlinda was a stay-at-home mom for many years and worked as a caretaker to many children in the neighborhood and then worked as an accountant again at the National Urban League from 1979 until her retirement in 2001.  She was a dedicated working mother for over 20 years, not to mention your local Avon lady for close to 35 years.   Erlinda was warm, friendly and loving yet she was also known to be a strong, tenacious woman and a strict disciplinarian with a determined will.  Even after retirement she continued to stay busy helping to care for her grandchildren.  She enjoyed cooking and found joy making big batches of lumpia and empanadas and distributing them amongst family members.  She was known for her lumpia-making parties where you could keep what you rolled! 

She had a playful and competitive spirit and a remarkable memory that she wielded doing crossword puzzles and playing cards and mahjong, as well as during trips to Atlantic City.  She enjoyed family gatherings and celebrations, classic movies, reading about celebrities and watching Jeopardy (while enthusiastically participating as if she was a contestant, of course).  But of utmost importance to her, and what brought her the most pride, were her children and grandchildren. She will live forever in their hearts. 

A memorial service will take place on Sunday, January 28, 2024 from 11-2 pm EDT.

- Prayers will begin at 1 pm.

- Following that, a Zoom meeting will start for friends and family who wish to share any thoughts.

- Then we will invite those attending in person to share their thoughts.

- A YouTube link will be provided for those who wish to solely view the memorial remotely. 

There will be a funeral mass on Monday, January 29th at 10 am at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, 615 8th Street, Union City, NJ.

Should you wish, you may make a donation to either the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation https://themmrf.org/?campaign=470475 or the National Urban League https://nul.org/donate in honor of Erlinda.