Aida passed away peacefully in her sleep at the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital in Ontario at 90 years young. She leaves behind her only child Sabrina, son-in-law Patrick Egan, her beloved grandkids – Sierra, Rohan and Adelaide, an endless number of friends and many nieces and nephews. She will be forever remembered for her kind heart, generous soul, childlike innocence, youthful beauty, fashionable outfits with matching chunky jewelry, flirtatious smile and for her love of dancing and singing.

Born in Margosatubig, Zamboanga del Sur in the Philippines, her family eventually moved to Zamboanga City where she grew up the privileged daughter of a doctor, Climaco Elago, and a nurse, Pilar Atilano. She was the 2nd eldest of 5 siblings, Celinda, Poldito, Vincent and Yolanda (all predeceased). She dabbled in modeling, won Beauty Pageants, was an accomplished pianist, graduated from Pilar College and obtained her Bachelor’s in Journalism at UST. After working at the Justice of the Peace, writing her own column for the Zamboanga Times, teaching Home Economics at Pilar College and becoming a local socialite, she decided to pack her bags to set off on a new adventure.

Her travels eventually landed her in Montreal, Canada where she became a primary school teacher, met her adoring husband of 28 years, Monaldo D’Orazio, and became a loving mother. She was a favourite and well-loved teacher at Wilfred Bastien and Honore Mercier in St. Leonard for a combined 20 years. She dedicated extra hours to direct talent shows, plays, teach Hawaiian dances, and even composed the school’s anthem song. Early retirement allowed her to focus on volunteering as Secretary and Director of Communications with the local Filipino community (FAMAS), traveling, playing piano, spending quality time with her husband, and hosting their many close friends at their custom-built home in Laval.

Her next chapter began, after her husband passed away from cancer, when she moved to Toronto in 1997 to be closer to her daughter. There she discovered Zamboanga Hermosa Canada, was eventually elected president for 8 years, and sat on the Board of Directors for the Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT) for over 10 years. This resulted in a larger-than-life community of best friends. During this time, she was proud to write and design the Zamboanga Hermosa newsletter, and establish the Outstanding Student Awards (granted to local Filipino students who achieved high academic excellence and demonstrated community involvement). She world-traveled, theatre-attended, casino-gambled, grandchildren-spoiled, Karaoke-sang, Gala-attended and line-danced the next 22 years away.

In 2019 when it became apparent she could no longer safely live alone, she moved one last time – again, to be closer to her daughter. At Chartwell in Collingwood, she enjoyed independent living under the care of the many helpful and attentive staff members who gratefully got her through the covid pandemic with as much grace and companionship as possible. There you could find her playing Bingo games, attending exercise classes, enjoying movie nights, dining with friends, day tripping and visiting with her family. All throughout her life, Aida remained closely connected to her large community of friends and family all over the world, and never failed to charm everyone that met her. She left this world with the same quiet poise and calm that followed her everywhere.

Fly with the angels, Mom! I will always love and miss you.

Due to covid restrictions, visitation and mass ceremony will be limited to Aida’s close friends and family, by invitation only. At a future date, her ashes will be placed with her husband at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal and at her family’s plot in Zamboanga City. Memorial services at these locations will accompany the interment.

For those who cannot attend in person, we will Zoom her mass ceremony which begins on Saturday, January 22 at 10AM EST. Click here for Online Mass (or cut and paste into browser):
https://bit.ly/AidaMass
Meeting ID: 828 2191 4756, Passcode: 0000

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Zamboanga Hermosa Canada Medical Mission run by Rotary ZC, in tribute to her commitment to the local Filipino community. Funds would go towards much needed medicine and medical supplies which would be distributed among the neediest neighbourhoods in her hometown Zamboanga City. Donations can be made via e-transfer to ZHCtreasurer@gmail.com, please note that this is in memory of Aida D’Orazio.