Juanita Palman Dela Cruz, our "Mala," peacefully passed away at the age of 96. As the loving wife of Felipe Dela Cruz for over 50 years and the strong and spirited matriarch of the Dela Cruz clan, she embodied true feminism before the word ever existed. She was not only a mother to seven (and grandmother to twenty-one grandchildren and countless great-grandchildren), she was an educator, caregiver, entrepreneur, poet, and artist. She laughed gleefully, loved fiercely, and crammed multiple lifetimes into one. She blazed the torch and made all of our lives rich and filled with so much love and possibility.