Patrocinio "Pat" Aguinaldo Onagan

Patrocinio (Pat) Aguinaldo Onagan

Obituary

It is with sadness that the children of Patrocinio (Pat) Aguinaldo Onagan announce the passing of their beloved mother on November 17, 2024, at her home in Winter Haven, Florida.

Pat was born in 1945 in the beautiful beachside province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. She is the daughter of Senior Master Sergeant Patrocinio Aguinaldo and Soledad Aguinaldo.

She earned two degrees, a B.S. in Commerce and a B.S. in Food and Nutrition, both from Far Eastern University of Manila.

In 1969, Pat moved to Chicago to join her sister Ofelia. She began her career shortly after as an accountant for the Chicago School Board for several years but discovered her true passion in food service and dedicated the remainder of her career in the industry until her retirement. In the mid-1970’s, she served as a registered dietician at Copley Memorial Hospital in Aurora, Illinois. She went on to become food service director for Franklin Community Hospital and later its sister hospital, Central Community Hospital, both in Chicago. Pat continued in a leadership role with St. Croix Nursing Home when she and her family moved to Woodbury, Minnesota in 1986.

Pat and her husband, Jaime, moved to Winter Haven in 1997 where she continued her work as a food service director for multiple nursing homes throughout Polk County until retiring in 2013. She was a longtime member of the American Dietetic Association and earned many awards for her dedication to serving the senior community by providing healthy meals.

Pat was an avid cook and loved to entertain family gatherings large and small, making everything from traditional Filipino cuisine to delicious backyard barbecues. The kitchen was her domain. Although she collected various recipes, she always put her own twist on dishes; these flavors are often replicated but never duplicated. She also enjoyed spending time in her garden and mastered growing various plants and trees from seedlings or cuttings. Family and friends could always count on competitive games of mahjong with Pat, complete with some friendly heckling during play.

She was incredibly devoted to her family and spent as much time with them whenever possible–being an active part on the sidelines at sports competitions, attending awards ceremonies, or in the audience at theatre productions. Her grandchildren will always remember their secret fast-food excursions with her and the abundance of yummy snacks and ice cream always readily stocked in her kitchen. In this past year before her death, she was able to travel and visit with family and close friends throughout the United States.

In addition to her parents, Pat is preceded in death by her loving and devoted husband Jaime Onagan.

Pat is survived and will be lovingly remembered by her children: Laura Ferrario (Remy), Patricia Onagan (Steven Infield), and Rossana de Claire (Mark Cook); her six grandchildren: Tea Ferrario, Vincent Ferrario, Benjamin Infield, Alexa Infield, Dr. Genvieve Livingston (John), and Javier de Claire (Cindy Hoang); her sister, Ofelia Tenegra; brother, Jose Aguinaldo; and many loved ones around the world.

A funeral mass will be celebrated by Fr. Nicholas O'Brien on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 1991 Overlook Drive, Winter Haven, Florida 33884. Family and friends who would like to join the celebration of Pat remotely can view the simultaneous online feed at https://saintmcc.sermoncloud.com/live. The inurnment service will be held immediately after the mass at St. Matthew Cemetery Columbarium.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Pat can be made to St. Matthew Catholic Church in Winter Haven; Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama; and Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, in Orlando, Florida.