Guillermina Gundy, known to her friends as Nena, died on the 15th of February 2019 after a short illness.
Guillermina was born on the 28th of June 1930 in San Marcelino in the province of Zambales of the Philippines. She was named after San Guillermo, the patron saint of her hometown. From her birth, her father lovingly referred to her as Nena. She was the third youngest of nine brothers and sisters and grew up during the tumult of World War II. She came to the United States in 1954 as a graduate student in psychology at Indiana University. She married and raised a daughter and a son.
She was an accomplished player of the violin, piano and the organ. Later in life she returned to her love of the piano, which she played on and off again up to just a few years ago. Nena could often be heard practicing Bach's Goldberg Variations on her prized Yamaha baby grand piano for hours. She loved the arts and ballet and admired the craft in all things done with excellence. In her last years, she watched tennis with a passion and had a near-encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary tennis stars. She remained an ardent fan of New York City and all it has to offer even during her last years when she could no longer venture outside to enjoy the city.
While in her mid-60s, Nena was diagnosed with a bone cancer that was rare in someone of her age. Despite the changes brought about by this adversity, she persevered with her love of travel, taking many trips abroad well into her 70s. A devout Catholic, one of these trips included fulfilling a life-long dream of visiting the Vatican.
By her friends, Nena is remembered as kind and charitable. She was an energetic, tireless conversationalist who loved telling good stories. With a storyteller's keen sense of hyperbole, it's unclear to this day how many of her stories and memories were absolutely, might have been, could have been or should have been true! By her family, she is remembered for all of these things, but also for her loving support and supreme generosity. A woman of very strong opinions and principles, who would defend her positions feistily and was not afraid to do so using very colorful language. She remained devoted to her faith and could be heard whispering prayer unto her final breath.
She is survived by her daughter, Maria, her son, Peter, and her granddaughter, Carmen. At the request of her family, in lieu of flowers please consider a donation in Guillermina (Nena's) name to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center toward the fight against cancer (
http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/guillerminagundy) .