BRANDYWINE — Luz C. Galito, beloved daughter, sister, aunt, spouse, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, quietly and peacefully passed away on October 22, 2021 after a year-long battle with cancer. She was surrounded by loved ones in her own home in the midst of recalling joyful childhood tales, old photo albums, laughter, tears and more tears when she uttered with hope that, “One day we will all be together, again.” She was 94.

Luz exemplified the fierceness of spirit, loyalty and devotion to family of a life well-lived. Born in San Carlos, Pangasinan Province in the Philippines, she was the fourth of eight siblings, growing up in challenging circumstances. Luz possessed a strong will as a child, and though she was extremely shy, her rambunctious tomboy antics and will-to-survive served her well during the Japanese occupation in WWII. Her intense curiosity and voracious appetite for knowledge left the impression that Luz was bookish and aloof following graduation from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, yet that did not deter her brother Ray’s hometown neighborhood friend and fellow sailor, Jose (Joe) Galito, from courting and marrying Luz in 1951 during his time on leave from the U.S. Navy.

A new chapter in life that tested her fortitude and devotion to family began in 1957, when Luz sailed from the Philippines to Memphis, Tenn. as a Navy spouse with four-year old son Jose (Pepe)  Jr. in tow. There, she gave birth to daughter Maria and completed graduate courses at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) to augment her biology degree, enabling her to land a job in 1959 at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., as a cytopathologist researching cancer cells, while husband Joe was on deployment overseas.

After Joe returned from overseas and reunited with Luz, they moved into a house in Clinton, Md. to raise two more children, Aurora and Sara. Luz tirelessly juggled work and parental duties until her retirement after 35 years at NIH. During that time and after retirement, Luz devoted a tumultuous 14 years caring for husband Joe after a devastating stroke left him disabled and in a wheelchair. After 57 years of marriage, Joe passed away in 2008.

Luz was generous to a fault, willing to give the shirt off her back to any of her children in need. Her great devotion to the Virgin Mary, coupled with her strong faith in the Roman Catholic Church, enabled her to endure the rollercoaster ride that is life, with its ups and downs and twists and turns. Ironically, the cancer cells that Luz researched at NIH became the cause of her death.

She is survived by her four children, Jose Galito, Jr. and wife Pamela, of Ashburn, Va., Maria Gilcrest of Brandywine, Aurora Hutchinson of Brandywine, Sara Lewis and husband Chuck Parker of Frederick; seven grandchildren, Patrick Galito of Ashburn, Va., Matthew Gilcrest, Jr. and wife Emily of Stuttgart, Germany, Erica Lewis and husband Steve Martin of Frederick, Erin Galito of Ashburn, Va., Richard Gilcrest and wife Lindsay of Friendship, Jessica Lewis of Frederick, Andrew Gilcrest of Lusby; and two great-grandchildren, Brooklyn and Ryan Gilcrest of Stuttgart, Germany.

A funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, November 11 at 12 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist, Roman Catholic Church, 8908 Old Branch Avenue, Clinton, Md.

Following Mass, Luz’s family will receive visitors on Thursday, November 11, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm in the hall below the church. This is a potluck reception.