Erlinda R. San Juan, age 83 of Farmington Hills, passed away September 26, 2024. She was born September 2, 1941 to Antonio and Martina (Casipit) Rabago. 

Born in the small village of Lucap, Erlinda was raised in the Philippines. At the age of 16, while working in her high school’s newspaper staff room, she met Ronaldo, a classmate who quickly became a friend. The two went on to graduate and go their separate ways. Erlinda attended Far Eastern University’s Institute of Medicine, while Ronaldo attended the University of Santo Tomas, also studying Medicine. A couple years into college, Ronaldo decided to take a chance and reconnect with Erlinda. He wrote her a letter asking to visit, and to his surprise she responded yes! After Erlinda prayed on her decision to meet Ronaldo again, soon after, the two began their courtship. While Ronaldo continued his education, he would pick up Erlinda every morning to accompany her to Far Eastern University, and they would start their day by going to the chapel for prayer. Every chance they had to spend time together, they would go on picnics and occasional excursions to resort areas in the Philippines. And as Erlinda was a devout Catholic, they would spend Wednesdays visiting the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and attending the novena.

After seven years together, Erlinda and Ronaldo were married on July 4, 1965 in Malate Catholic Church in Manila. As Ronaldo so thoughtfully expressed, each gave up their independence in order to gain one another for life. In June of 1966, the newlyweds made their way to the U.S. for Ronaldo’s post graduate training. They first moved to Detroit, Michigan, then to Sterling Heights, and eventually settled in Farmington Hills. Blessed with four children, Erlinda quickly learned all she needed to in the U.S. in order to raise a family. She received her driver's license and began transporting her kids around town to all their school and extracurricular activities. She learned how to cook and became quite the expert at any recipe she tried. She was fully devoted to her children and providing her family a loving home.  

As the children grew older and more independent, Erlinda went to work for her husband’s medical practice. As his secretary, she ran his office with the utmost professionalism and a great efficiency. She also made efforts to develop personal connections and was well respected by the office staff. During the Christmas season, Erlinda treated the staff by providing a delicious holiday lunch. In addition, their yearly celebration for Christmas Eve and Maria Belen’s birthday was a tradition all family and friends looked forward to because of the yummy dishes that Erlinda would prepare.

Besides making sure that no one ever went hungry, Erlinda spent much of her free time enjoying the simpler things in life. She liked gardening, solving crossword and word search puzzles, and reading, particularly the ever popular and cliché romance novels. She especially looked forward to traveling with Ronaldo. Among their favorite destinations included four trips to Venice and numerous visits back home to the Philippines to see family, as well as to attend medical school reunions and medical missions. Closer to home, one of Erlinda’s favorite things to do was go out to restaurants and share a meal with her husband. She was a faithful parishioner of her church and attended Mass regularly. She cherished the time spent with her family and loved her granddaughters with such pride, taking care of them at every given opportunity. The peace and happiness Erlinda brought into the lives of those she loved the most will truly be missed beyond measure.  

Erlinda was the beloved wife of Ronaldo for 59 years. Loving mother of Maria Belen (Gene) Zalubas, Maria Cecilia San Juan, Ronald San Juan, and Robert San Juan. Proud grandmother of Grace and Sarah Zalubas. She was predeceased by her siblings Ben, Lourdes, Rose, Nellie and Antonio, Jr.

Visitation for Mrs. San Juan will be held on Monday, September 30th, from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. with a 7:00 p.m. Scripture Service at McCabe Funeral Home, 31950 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. She will lie in state on Tuesday, October 1st, at 11:00 a.m. until the time of her Funeral Mass at 11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, 23815 Power Rd., Farmington.