OBITUARY Susan Rangansan Labucay December 18, 1960 – September 20, 2018 Susan R. Labucay passed on September 20, 2018 after a hard fought battle against stage 4 ovarian cancer. Susan Rangasan Labucay was born on December 18, 1960, in Batac: a Philippine town 20 minutes east of the emergent resort town Paoay, Ilocos Norte province. Home to UNESCO Heritage Site Paoay Church and the Paoay Sand Dunes, Paoay also has the distinction of being the birthplace of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
Susan achieved a Bachelor of Science in Economics from St. Louis College of Tuguegarao, located in the northeastern Luzon province of Cagayan. (For Statesiders, the equivalent distance time wise would be from Los Angeles to San Jose. ) A 23 year veteran of the Department of Public Works & Highways, Susan’s public service began at the start of Marcos’s political decline, and concluded just as the Bengino “Ninoy” Aquino’s administration settled in.
Retired from government service in 2012, Susan embarked on her next adventure by relocating to Seattle, WA. This is where she was introduced to Al Abadilla Jr., a Vietnam veteran and all around mechanic whom she married in March 2013. With Georgetown as home base, Susan’s days saw her completing Seattle Goodwill’s Job Training Program, practicing folk and line dancing at the International Drop-In Center on Beacon Hill, and working for a local grocer.
Her family and friends had – and continue to have – her fullest attention. Between Facebook, FaceTime, and opposite the living room couch, Susan kept tabs on us all – definitely not easy feat when we are literally scattered across the globe! Waipahu, Reykjavik, Hong Kong, SoCal, Seattle, and back home to Batac… Susan’s reach was simply that far and that wide.
Time zones and kilometers fell away in November 2017, Susan learned she had developed stage 4 ovarian cancer. The different treatments, while initially promising, couldn’t provide the sustained armor and weaponry needed to defeat it. Instead, this past Labor Day, Susan made the decision to transition into comfort care.
Cancer didn’t stop her from everything even in her last moments. It didn’t stop her from finding a support group, nor did it stop her from hanging out with friends when she was well enough togo out and about. It didn’t stop calls to her mother and siblings, nor any texts to her four step kids.
Cancer didn’t have a chance stopping us from converging in Seattle from Orange County, Oakland, Olympia, and Honolulu, to rally up her strength while she received care at Swedish First Hill’s Oncology Care Unit. It certainly didn’t stop Susan from connecting with you, wherever you were. Susan passed peacefully the morning of Thursday, September 20, 2018.
Immediate survivors include her mother, a brother and 5 sisters remaining of eight total siblings, her husband, three step daughters (one an in-law), and a step son in-law. Funeral and crematory services will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2018, at the main building of Forest Lawn Funeral Home, 6701 30th Ave SW, Seattle WA 98126. Public viewing opens at 10:00am, with the memorial service scheduled to begin at 11:00am.
Susan’s family suggests making donations in her honor to either the International Drop-In Center (www. idicseniorcenter.org/donate) or Seattle Goodwill (seattlegoodwill.org/ways-to-give/individual-giving). Forest Lawn recommends Burien, WA based, woman-owned florist Iris & Peony (www.
irisandpeony.net/sympathy) for floral arrangements.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
