Adele Urbiztondo

Adele began taking piano lessons from 5- 8 years old from Mr.Critchfield for 25 cents an hour. She didn't learn how to read music right away because she needed glasses but was to afraid to tell him so she finally told her mother and got a pair. She later learned to play the classics from Madame Borovsky a pianist from Vienna, Austria. From the ages 12-15 she attended the S.F. Conservatory of Music where she learned to play the classics by Beethoven ,etc One of her favorite singers was Vic Damone and his song, "On the Street Where you Live." When she was a teenager her mother knew a lady who taught her the social graces of how to meet and greet people. .In 1949 she was chosen and crowned Miss Philippines at the Solano County Fair by then Governor Earl Warren and shortly after she was also chosen to represent the raising of the flag of the Philippines at the Fifth Anniversary of the United Nations at City Hall in San Francisco where Mayor Elmer Robinson presided. On May 31st, 1952 she married Emile Urbiztondo and together they had six children( five boys, one girl), she forgot most of our names so we were introduced as numbers one through six. She said that when she used to bring all of us to Children's Playground with Katy Coffey and her kids, that she would tie us all together with a rope, kind of like how Cesar Millan walks his six dogs to keep us under control. There was one phrase of six words that she said that would forever be remembered , " Wait till your father gets home." And then the beatings began. She also raised 27 other children. By that I mean she babysat kid's to make ends meet from 1950- 1980. For thirty years this was her job. But in 1984 she finally had enough of taking care of kids. She loved to entertain people with her piano playing and could be heard at school functions and parties, hotels, cruise ships and at home. She lived in S.F., Daly City and ended up in Las Vegas where she was awarded, ' Volunteer of the Year' for playing at old age homes. Her latest CD can be found on cdbaby.com and ITunes under her name, Adele Urbiztondo. She became the 2nd President for the San Francisco Chapter of the FAHNS where she once organized a reunion of the Filipino Mango Athletic Club of S.F. who as young men competed in various sports and were rewarded with becoming lifelong friends. She traveled extensively to Alaska, to Hawaii, Caribbeans, Alaska, Europe and the Philippines. Her favorite foods were pancit. lumpia and adobo. Halo-halo was one of her favorite drinks that she would make at NVRC our summer camping spot where she would shave the ice from a block of ice to make it and enjoy under the scorching hot Napa weather. Robert Goulet was her favorite singer, she was a great cook, a great piano player, she was a golfer, If I was to describe her in one word it would be: TOUGHNESS: She never complained about her life or her health. My brother Dennis and I nicknamed her 'The Honey Badger'. and she never gossiped or said a bad thing about any one . She has nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren.