Biography

Maria Flora Sarah de la Cruz, “Sarah”, a beloved Mother, Tita, devoted Catholic, and long-time resident of Irvine, California, passed away on July 1, 2022 at the age of 66 after an arduous 5 year battle with ALS.

Sarah is survived by her husband, Claro Jose “CJ”; her children, Michaela, Marcee, and Gaby; her siblings, Leonila, Virgilio, George, Corazon, Rolando, and Patricia; sister and brother in law, Virginia and Enrique Dela Cruz; her cousins, Josefina, Merle, Avelino, and Oris; her niece, Corina Flores; and her nephew, Carlo Dela Cruz.

Sarah was born in South Cotabato, General Santos City, Philippines, on October 9, 1955, to Elena Briones and Diomedes Flores. On December 8, 1983, she married CJ, an engineer and her long-time sweetheart. Together, Sarah and CJ began their lifelong journey as residents of the Caltex Refinery and Compound in Batangas City, Philippines, where Sarah dedicated herself to raising their three daughters, and served as part of the Caltex Ladies Club, leading fundraising and social efforts in service to her community.

In 1999, Sarah and CJ emigrated from the Philippines to Irvine, California, where her faith found its second home in the St. John Neumann Parish. Sarah was a business owner, she operated Childcare by Sarah, catering to young families in the Irvine-OC area from mid 2000s to 2018. Prior to this, Sarah served as a Medical Administrative Professional in the healthcare industry, and was an active host family participant for numerous foreign exchange students from Japan and Korea through UCI.

Sarah was a devoted Catholic, and dedicated her life in service of the Filipino community and the church. A central fixture in St. John Neumann’s Filipino ministry, Sarah held many leadership positions throughout her many years of service in the parish. As founder of The Filipino Outreach Group of SJN (FOGS) in 2010, her goal of promoting Filipino culture within the parish, as well as providing a space for our Kababayan to share, enhance, and grow their faith, is still thriving to this day.

What started as a modest, like-minded gathering of 13 families yearning for Kababayan fellowship, has grown over the years to a network of more than 150 families actively celebrating Filipino culture through prayer, good fellowship and community worship. Through Sarah’s leadership, FOGS has introduced a year-round Filipino ministry program at SJN, most notably, the Bilingual English Tagalog Mass, Fiesta of Santo Nino, Flores de Mayo, and Santacruzan Celebrations, and the Simbang Gabi.

“Tita Sa,” as she was intimately known, was an avid lover of the power of music and food to bring communities together. One of her passions was cooking and baking– her kaldereta, kare-kare, seafood chowder, and honey crunch cake are known within the family as, quite simply, “the best.” As a long-standing member of St. John Neumann’s Traditional Choir, Sarah also shared her love of music with her community by founding the first Filipino Choir at SJN, who she led singing in worship at the Tagalog Bilingual Masses, Christmas Concerts, and others. In 2012, Sarah spearheaded the inaugural Voices United in God’s Love: A Valentine Serenade Fundraising Concert by the FOGS Choir, aimed at providing Typhoon Relief in the Philippines. In 2015, Voices had its encore presentation, with Sarah at the helm as Event Chair/Adviser. Along with the music ministry programs, Sarah also expressed her love of community through food, whether it be at the congregation-wide Filipino Breakfasts through SJN, or at an intimate booth at the Taste of St. John Neumann, Tita Sa was always there, eager to share her bounty with the community.

From 2009 to 2015, Sarah and her husband, CJ, have been at the forefront of curating the Filipino Cultural Exhibit at the Annual Irvine Global Village Festival, held in the fall, at the Great Park, Irvine. During the mid 2000s, Sarah had established a bustling community events calendar, but we all know she would not have had it any other way. In 2009, Sarah served as the Founding President of The Irvine Filipino American Community (TIFAC), now widely known as TFAC-OC. She held the title of President through the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Concurrently during this time, she also served as a Eucharistic Minister at SJN (2013 to 2015), as well as serving on the Parish Pastoral Council (2015). In 2015, Sarah had the distinct honor of being celebrated as St. John Neumann’s Woman of The Year, recognizing her many years of devoted service to the church community.

In January 2018, after a full year of increasing symptoms, a seemingly endless barrage of hospital visits and consults, Sarah was formally diagnosed with ALS. As one can imagine, the diagnosis has turned Sarah’s life upside down, and brought our entire family to our knees. Though heartbroken, our family has found strength through gratitude, and we are humbled by the generosity of those around us. Sarah spent the last four years of her life in the comfort of home, in the loving, devoted care of her husband, CJ, and her sister-in-law, Tita Jing.

Sarah lived her life boldly, loving her family and community generously, and selflessly, with a sort of intense vibrancy that makes you wonder how she did it all. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and all who knew her.