She was still very much active at the age of 77. She faithfully did her duty as mom and wife, attended the village aerobics group, participated in the activities of the religious committee. There were no signs of winding down. 

She, though, have nursed hypertension since an early age (around 20 to 30 years old). Her activities might have taken its toll. On March 4, 2015, after attending her aerobics class in the morning, around lunch time at the house of a neighbor, while attending a prayer meeting, she suffered a stroke. She was rushed to the Medical City where she was diagnosed to have suffered also a heart attack which triggered the stroke. A few days further doctors relayed that she developed a condition called hemorrhagic infarction due to the complications of her treatment for both heart attack and stroke. She was confined at the ICU until March 9, when she passed away. The reality of stroke being a silent killer is very true. 

Her wake was held at the Evergreen Chapel (formerly Arlington) along C. Raymundo at Pasig City. Her remains were interred on March 12, 2015 at the Holy Gardens in Taytay. 

Overflowing support from relatives, friends and neighbors poured in since she was hospitalized upto her passing and interment. It came in the form of prayers, of messages, of tears. They came daily at her wake, and lined along the streets as her funeral procession passed through Riverside Village on March 12. She touched so many and she will be greatly missed.

We are comforted in the words of Jesus, our Savior, himself in John 14:1-4:

Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know. 

Years piled up. 

With the closure of Riverside Mills, Lydia looked for various sources of income. She opened a business with her husband. This was C&L Trading. They sold LPG and eggs in the nearby community. They set up shop at Cainta.

Lydia also went into Insurance and was an underwriter for Insular Life. She also got into the various multi-level marketing companies then: Oriflame, Forever Living, Pacific Plans and lastly Prudential. She also went into real estate selling. 

She also got involved into community service. She served as President of Riverside Village Homeowners Association in 2001. She also served as director afterwards up to 2015. 

She even went outside Riverside and served with the Lupong Tagapamayapa of Barangay Sta. Lucia in 2003. 




 

Lydia started working as early as 1959. She was a secretary at Riverside Mills Corporation to key officers of the said company until 1984. Riverside Mills is a garments company and was one of the top corporations in the country during those times.

This was where she met Cesar Barcelona Buenaventura, her husband, whom she married in June 25, 1966 at the Our Lady of Lourdes, Sta. Teresita Parish at Quezon City. They had 3 children: Emily, Elsie and Elwin.

Their family first resided at Gagaling, Tondo, then to De Castro Subdivision, then finally at Riverside Village. Riverside Village was the employee housing of Riverside Mills. The Buenaventura family were one of the first 5 residents of the said village.

 

Lydia was born on September 8, 1937 at Bongabong, Mindoro. She was born on the feast day of the birth of Mary. Bongabong is a town in the 2nd district of Oriental Mindoro.

Her parents were Pablo Famisaran Falconitin and Silveria de Guia Bronce. She has 5 siblings: Araceli (Cheleng), Oscar, Alegria (Ligreng), Evangeline and Ruby. She and her siblings became orphans early in life and were given to the care of relatives (the Santillans) in Manila. 

She studied at Udiongan Elementary school until 1952 and in Manila at Far Eastern University for both high school and college. She graduated College with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Commerce in April 21, 1966.