Cresencia Tibura Macol

Cresencia Macol, who died here in Pocatello on the evening of March 14, 2022, was born to Cirile Macol and Valentina Tibura on May 5, 1930, in rural Rizal Province, in the US colony of the Philippines. She grew up on her parents’ and grandparents’ farm, but her parents kept her hidden from the rapacious Japanese soldiers who had invaded and occupied the Philippines until she was 15.

She married Eusebio Pangan, who was born in January 1923, in Pasig, Rizal Province, on May 25, 1947. Together, they had 8 children: Edward, Valentina, Florentina, Maria, Jimmy, Joey, Christina, and Jon-Jon, who was swept away in a typhoon while young.  The kids had lots of adventures on their parents’ and grandparents’ farm, some of them rather scary and/or painful, but then, a large American corporation, with the help of corrupt lawyers, stole that farm, and most of their neighbors’ farms, and turned the land into housing and shopping malls for the rich. So, all those families were forced into the often desperately impoverished nightmare of city life.  This kind of crime has long been common in poor nations, and many millions of lives have been destroyed in just that way. Several of Cresencia’s kids were forced into gangs just to survive, and the rest had to scramble, like their parents, just to stay alive. Their father drove jitneys (jeep like taxi-busses) until he was badly injured and spent the last months of his life wandering around like a nearly mindless animal because of his head injuries… and no place to turn to for help. Conservative nations are evil places, and conservatives are evil people!

Living in Metro Manila, Cresencia worked as a maid and in a laundry to try to support her kids. One of her daughters, Maria, married a Navy man, Gerald Still, and came to Pocatello to live. Maria worked at Lamb Weston, and eventually got her citizenship, and then was able to bring her mother here to the USA.  Cresencia lived and worked in San Francisco, where she had friends, but also in Boise and Nampa, before returning to San Francisco for about 10 more years. She got one of her daughters, Florentina, married off to an American, John Dille, and they have lived here for almost 30 years. Cresencia has lived with them for most of the last 20 years.  She died here in her sleep, just 8 weeks shy of 92. Cresencia also managed to get her son, Joey, here, and he helped take care of her for most of the last 10 years. She and her son were both members of Iglesia ni Cristo… the Philippine version of the Church of Christ.