Ester Vila

Ester Vila 83, of Happy Valley, OR passed away on February 23, 2021 at Kaiser Permanente Westside Hospital in Hillsboro, OR.



Ester was born on October 20, 1937 in Cabanatuan City, Philippines to her parents Guadencio and Caridad Ramirez. She was the oldest of five siblings.



Ester grew up in Quezon City, Philippines. She graduated from Quezon City High School in 1954. After high school she attended college at University of Santo Tomas in Manila where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1958. After college, in search of a way to support her family, she made the brave decision to leave her life and family in the Philippines and move to Houston to pursue her nursing career as an exchange student. She went on to work as a beloved nurse for 40 years.



Ester married her true love Ruben Vila in 1966 in Windsor, Ontario. The two were happily married for 55 years. In 1967 they were blessed with their first child, Mike and in 1972 the family of three moved to Portland, Oregon.  In 1977, their daughter Melanie was born. Ester and Ruben created a beautiful life and have remained in Portland ever since.



Ester was a woman of strong faith, always putting God before all else. She attended mass regularly and was active in her parish in various volunteer roles. During the summer days, she could always be found spending countless hours working in her beautiful garden. She also enjoyed being the number one fan at her grandchildren's sporting events and traveling the world with her husband and family. She was recently able to fulfill her life-long dream of visiting the Holy Land. She loved music and she loved to dance at big family gatherings, but there was nothing she cherished more than spending time with her family, most especially her grandchildren.



Ester is survived by her husband, Ruben; son, Mike Vila; daughter, Melanie and spouse, Mike McCaffrey; sister, Edna and spouse, Manny Domantay; brother, Renato Ramirez; sister, Josie and spouse, Abet Borja; and her six endeared grandchildren, Audrey, Sam, Joey, Mia, Eva and Ben.



Funeral services are tentatively set for Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at Christ the King Catholic church. The service will be by invite only in order to keep numbers down for the safety of friends and family. A link to the livestream will be provided for those who would like to attend virtually.



In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contribution in Ester's name to La Salle Prep Athletics where her son and daughter attended high school and where two of her granddaughters participate in sports that Ester so loved to watch. Gift contributions may be made directly at the link below.