Ma'am Susan personifies artful grace, generosity

Me talking a group photo with Ma'am Susan (seated second from left)


by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Rockingham, North Carolina--First impressions are lasting impressions, so goes the old saying and this rings true for my meeting with Susan Valenzuela Soberano Mendiola at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

We were guests of the gracious and hospitable Cora M Roxas at her home and she welcomed us with lunch. It was that time and place when I met Ma'am Susan and her husband. A petite 70-year-old lady who doesn’t look her age, she epitomizes graceful aging. To me she looks 20 years younger. Susan is the great granddaughter of Pio Valenzuela, the compatriot of the Philippine national hero Jose Rizal. 

She told me that she remembered reciting poems for her great grandfather Pio. It was a eureka moment for  me who had yet to meet any relatives of heroes that we read only in Philippine history books. The date of our lunch was also providential given that it was also my late father’s (Tatay) birthday. 

I was only reminded of my father’s birthday when Ma’am Susan sang and played ‘Tiny Bubbles’ on her ukulele with Cora at her lovely home. My late father also happened to play ukulele.

Susan’s the older (by two years) of two sisters who are now in their 70s.  Born in Manila, Ma’am Susan grew up in Quezon City.  

‘I was a happy child growing up.  I loved to recite poems, to sing and perform for my parents and grandparents. Art is a part of my life and my love for art came after I had my kids. When I came to the US in 1985, art ended up on the back burner as I got busy in my real estate career. I just re-kindled my love for art three years after retirement. 

Ma'am Susan playing the ukelele. 
Other tidbits I picked up in my conversation with Ma’am Susan; ‘My favorite subject in school was English literature. Definitely not Math. I love to dance and I danced briefly with the Bayanihan dance troupe in the 60s.  Now I dance to the East Coast swing, cha-cha, salsa, maskipops, etc. at the Moose Lodge. I love to sing; I performed with the Carolina Master Chorale, a premier choir here in South Carolina.  I’m also a cantor at St Michael Catholic Church. I love to sing karaoke and sing/play with a  ukelele group here in MB.’

She continued: ‘I was in a musical group while in college called ‘Two and a Lady’ and we were the local Peter, Paul and Mary in Manila at the time.  Those were fun times! My favorite singers were Ricky Nelson, Patsy Cline and Anne Murray.’ Ma’m Susan also mentioned her four children as her inspiration in life especially in retirement. 

‘Serving the Lord is the only ‘work’ left for me to do, which I do with my whole heart and soul.  I serve my church as lector, cantor, Eucharistic minister, adult choir, a Mother of Perpetual Help novena coordinator and faith sharing group leader,’ she said. 

Indeed the people we meet in life would always leave a lasting impression. Ma’am Susan’s sincerity, great voice and great feet or shall we say ‘dancerous feet’ were quite engaging and when I told her about my lack of dancing skills, she whispered to me that it didn’t matter ‘so long as I enjoyed it.’

Those were fun times at Club 3100 and Moose Lodge with friends like Cora and Ma’am Susan along with Nilo Ortega Torres and his wife Olive.  Until the next time we meet, thank you for the pleasure of your company, Ma’am Susan Valenzuela Soberano Mendiola.


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