Felicitas "Fel" Santos

Felicitas “Fel” Santos, age 89 of Belle Plaine, passed away at her home on Monday, August 8, 2022.  Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30a.m. on Friday, August 19, 2022 at Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church in Belle Plaine.  Fr. Michael Kaluza will officiate.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the Mass at church on Friday morning.  Interment will be at a later date in the Philippines.

Fel was born in Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines on November 2, 1932 to Andres and Mercedes (Perez) Santos. She grew up in Camiling and from high school there. She received a bachelors degree from Camiling Colleges in the Philippines and taught high school and elementary school age children in the Philippines. She moved to the United States and Belle Plaine in 1978. She enrolled in graduate school and earned her masters degree from Minnesota University, Mankato and became a naturalized citizen in 2003. She worked as a qualified professional for twelve years at the Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine and retired from there in 2002. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed growing vegetables and flowers in abundance before following her retirement.

Fel is survived by her sister, Antusa and her husband Ben Bryant whom she lived with in Belle Plaine for forty-five years. Her brother Diong( wife Lily) and their three children and three grandchildren, all living in New Jersey. Fel was an aunt to Lori, Robert, and Ben Jr., and will be remembered fondly by them, especially by Lori, with whom she shared many happy hours.

Fel was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Felix and his wife Nati, and her nephew Marcelino who she helped raise while his mother and father were attending school and/or working.