Victoria Soria

Victoria T. Soria passed away peacefully on the morning of March 22, 2023. She was 94. She had been lovingly attended to by family members Maria and Frank Olaso, and Donnie and Lorrie Soria in the months prior to her death and surrounded by family and friends in the days leading up to her passing.

Born Victoriana Felisa Sultan Tuazon on February 21, 1929 in Catbalogan, Samar, Philippines, she was the oldest of five children. She attended school through the eighth grade and survived the Japanese Occupation of her town during World War II. She was an adventurous child, but she didn’t talk much about her childhood until later in life, when she shared hair-raising stories of carrying her infirm grandfather piggyback into the jungle to avoid the Japanese or hiding in the rafters of a cousin’s house to avoid Japanese patrols.

She met her future husband, Alejandro Pastor Soria, at a victory celebration in Catbalogan after the war in 1945. It was love at first sight for him, although her family told him bluntly, “You don’t want her! She can’t cook or clean!” He said he’d teach her. She was 16, he was 33. Three months later they embarked on a marriage that would last nearly 45 years, and progress from Catbalogan where they were married and had their first child, Alejandro Jr., to PusPus, Ilocos Sur, where Alejandro, Sr. was from, and where their daughters, Maria and Victoria, were born, to Stockton, California, where they’d ultimately settle.

In 1952, she followed her husband to the United States, coming alone with the three oldest children, who were then 5, 3, and 1-1/2. Her youngest child, Danilo (Donnie) was born in Stockton in 1953. When the kids were young, she was a seasonal worker, but after they’d all left home, she went to work for K-Mart, where she worked for 20 years, rising to the level of Men’s Department Manager before her retirement. She lived in Stockton for most of her life in America, except after the death of her husband and her subsequent retirement from K-Mart, when she moved to Oakland to live with Donnie and Lorrie. After ten years in Oakland, she returned to Stockton.

She loved to crochet and was an accomplished seamstress and avid reader. She loved to travel, especially to the Philippines to visit family, and enjoyed trips to Canada, Italy, Las Vegas, Boston, Atlanta, Disneyland, and Disney World. She loved camping with Maria and Frank, as well. She was a member of the Legionarios del Trabajo and the American Legion Auxiliary of Stockton, as well as a devout parishioner at St. Linus and Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Stockton, and St. Augustine in Oakland.

Fiercely independent after the death of her husband, she lived in her own home or apartment until her first stroke in 2021. She was not happy to have to give up her independence, but she enjoyed living with Maria and Frank.

Family

She was predeceased by siblings Sabino Tuazon and Erminhilda Tuazon Cumpio; her husband, Alejandro Pastor Soria, Sr., (d. 1990); two children, Victoria (d. 1985) and Alejandro, Jr. (d. 2020), and a grandchild, Danielle Soria (d. 1975).

She is survived by two children, Maria Soria Olaso (Frank) of Stockton CA and Danilo “Donnie” Soria (Lorrie) of Oakland CA; grandchildren Tonie Olaso Gomez (Kris) of Orange CA; Bronson Olaso (Leah) of Hayward CA; Nicole Soria Vinson (William) of Kailua-Kona, HI; Azure Soria (Carson Young) of San Diego CA; Jhonvieve Soria Bischof (Matt) of Austin TX; Alejandro D. Soria (Kimberly) of Fremont CA; Gabrielle Soria of Berlin Germany; and Galen Soria (Amanda Pemberton) of Campbell CA; great-grandchildren Max and Leland Gomez; Shaun, Brandon, Tianna, and Kelia Moreno and Marrisa Vinson Dailey; Gavinn Olaso and Adriene Leiva; Darryl-Jon and Maddox Mineishi and Seneca Bischof; and Demetre and Red Soria; great-great grandchildren Jaycob, Xander and Kalia Moreno, Zayden and Oziah Perez, Kaycen and Journey Moreno, and Noah and Lilah Rose Milligan.

She is also survived by three siblings, Natividad Fabreo of Manila, Philippines; Genaro Del Rosario (Corazon) of Lodi, CA, and Manuela Velardo (Catbalogan, Samar, Philippines), and a great many loving nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and nephews around the world.

Victoria was a devoted and loving wife; a beloved mother and mother-in-law; a cherished grandmother, great grandmother, and great-great grandmother; revered Lola (matriarch) to her family in the Philippines; a loving sister and auntie; and a faithful and affectionate friend.

She will be deeply missed by all who loved her.