Benjamina M. Barlis

Benjamina M. Barlis, born March 31, 1931, was always a hardworking woman. She
studied hard in school to become a teacher of geometry, then pushed on to become a
school principal for both the school that she taught in and for a vocational school held in
the evenings. Her strong background in education further manifested in the form of a
textbook manual for advanced geometry, written by her to serve as a guide for teachers
of the subject.
Benjamina’s hustle continued in the home with her family, both when she resided in the
Philippines and when she moved to the United States. In the Philippines, she endured
the passing of her husband early in the building of her family, and as such was taking
care of her children on her own. Although she worked her jobs diligently from sunrise to
sunset to be able to support her children, she made sure to spend what time she could
with them. After moving to New York to live with her daughter’s family, she took care of
her grandchildren as if they were her own. She always made sure they were fed well
and the spaces they spent time in were clean. Not to mention the very generous gifts
she gave come a family member’s birthday or especially Christmas time.
To top it all off, Benjamina was always a devout Catholic, undoubtedly the most faithful
person in her family. She made it adamantly clear to attend Mass whenever it was
Sunday or a holy day of obligation. On retiring and moving to America, she made it her
routine to walk to the nearby Church to attend Mass regularly. Even as she became less
able to attend Mass in person, she would both regularly pray the Rosary and watch a
broadcast Mass on her TV, filling the house with the sounds of holy worship early every
morning.
Benjamina was always a selfless person, constantly worrying and concerning herself
with her others first. When it became time for her family to take care of her to a greater
degree, she continued to push hard spiritually, only wishing to not be a burden on her
family but to continue with them and watch them thrive and flourish. She was exuberant
to watch her three grandsons all go to college, including one grandson getting his
doctorate and another landing a job after having searched for years. And she never
wanted to leave her son-in-law and especially her daughter, always wanting to stay
watching over her and her family.
On October 12, 2024, Benjamina passed away from the Earth. Her ever-hard-working,
ever-faithful, ever-loving legacy will never be forgotten as it has certainly moved the
lives of those who have met her. While her family has heavy hearts seeing her pass and
will miss her dearly, they do find comfort knowing all her hard work has earned her soul
true rest with God above.

Thank you for everything, Mommy/Lola Benjie. Pwede na po kayo magpahinga ngayon
ng maayos. We love you and always will~