Amelia Gordon

Amelia Gordon
Mayor of Olongapo City
In office
January 1, 1968 – June 30, 1972
President Ferdinand Marcos
Preceded by Jaime Guevarra
Succeeded by Geronimo "Momoy" Lipumano
Personal details
Born Amelia Nepomuceno Juico
(1919-09-04)September 4, 1919
Castillejos, Zambales, Philippine Islands
Died November 17, 2009(2009-11-17) (aged 90)
Olongapo, Zambales, Philippines
Nationality Filipino
Political party Independent (1968-1972)
Spouse(s) James Leonard T. Gordon, Sr.
Relations married, widow
Children Veronica "Onnie" Gordon-Lorenzana
Barbara "Bai" Gordon-Delos Reyes
Cecille Gordon-Mullen
Richard "Dick" Gordon
James "Bong" Gordon, Jr.
Imelda Gordon-Deza
Residence Olongapo City, Zambales, Philippines
Occupation Housewife; Politician
Religion Filipino Roman Catholic

Amelia Juico Gordon (née Amelia Nepomuceno Juico; September 4, 1919 - November 19, 2009) was a mayor of Olongapo City and mother of former Senator and Red Cross Chairman Richard "Dick" Gordon.

Early life

Amelia Juico Gordon was born on September 4, 1919 to Juan Juico and María Nepomuceno y Espíritu (August 6, 1889 in Castillejos, Zambales - January 7, 1972 in Makati, Rizal).[1] Due to financial difficulties, she was never able to finish high school.

Personal life

She married James Leonard T.Gordon, Sr., an American immigrant, who became the First Municipal Mayor of Olongapo, Zambales. Amelia Juico-Gordon managed several businesses, and supported her husband with hi career. She had five children, and supported abandoned children of the city. She began taking in abandoned Fil-American children, adopting and raising them as her own, and even giving them her "Juico" last name.

As her husband was walking to the City Hall with people crowding around him, he was shot in the head by an operative of the opposition. She was left to raise her own five children and also her adopted children, on her own.

Descendants

Several of Gordon's relatives became prominent figures in politics.

Political life

She continued her life of service in the private sector, advocating the protection and promotion of the welfare of needy and abandoned children, legally adopting fifty-four children as her own, changing the lives of thousands as the founder of the Olongapo Boys Town and Girls Home, and founding several other civic organizations such as the Olongapo City Civic Action Group (OCAG), the Iba-Olongapo Catholic Women’s League (IOCWL), and the Olongapo City Red Cross (OCRC) where she also served as Chairperson for twenty-eight years. She led and founded many civic groups in Olongapo including the Olongapo City Boy’s and Girls Home, Red Cross Olongapo City Chapter (RCOCC) and the Catholic Women’s League of Zambales (CWLZ). She was the first woman elected city Mayor of Olongapo in 1967.

Awards

She was Former assemblywoman of the 1984 Batasang Pambansa and recipient of The Pearl S. Buck International Woman of The Year Award in 2002, only the second Filipina to receive such, for her accomplishments in her civic and humanitarian endeavor.

Death

She died on November 17, 2009 at the age of eighty-nine due to stroke. She is survived by her children—Veronica "Onnie" Gordon-Lorenzana, Barbara "Bai" Gordon-Delos Reyes, Cecille Gordon-Mullen, Richard "Dick" Gordon, James "Bong" Gordon and Imelda Deza.

Legacy

References

  1. ↑ Maria Juico's Death Certificate
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