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Dr. Zaida Padua-DeOcera, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at home in Palm Desert, CA on the morning of January 4, 2014, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 77 years old. She graduated with honors with two degrees. One from the University of the Philippines Quezon City with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, and a second degree of Doctor of Medicine from Far Eastern University in Manila, Philippines. She and her husband, Dr. Rodolfo M. DeOcera were classmates in medical school at Far Eastern University. They married soon after their graduation. Together, they moved to the United States, where they both interned at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Zaida did her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Padua-DeOcera, MD, FACOG was certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She was a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Together with her husband, a general surgeon, practiced their specialties mostly in Bucks County and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They then moved to and continued their practice in Deming, New Mexico, where they established a practice to help those less fortunate, often providing free or discounted service for those who could not afford or qualify for healthcare. As Zaida's patients, family and friends will attest, she did not practice medicine with the goal of making money, but rather to help people and to help bring newborn children into the world. She achieved that goal and humbly would tell her close friends and family that she never "lost a baby" while she practiced. Those who knew and loved Zaida miss her deeply. Dr .Padua-DeOcera was a talented artist and she loved animals. Her passion was singing and playing the piano. Her interests included family, piloting planes, sports and opera. She retired in 2001 and moved to California to be closer to her son who at that time lived in Los Angeles. She was a religious woman who was an active choir member at Sacred Heart Church in Palm Desert, as well as an active member of the Filipino-American Society of Coachella Valley. Zaida is survived by her husband Dr. Rodolfo M. DeOcera, her son Rodney T. DeOcera, her sister Amelita Go, and two brothers Benjamin Padua and Ceferino Padua. She was preceded in death by her father, Dr. Regino Padua and mother, Isabel Padua, brother Alfonso Padua and sisters, Remedious Gil and Evelyn Cube. A public memorial service will be held at Sacred Heart Church in Palm Desert, CA at 11:00 AM on Friday January 10, 2014; a public funeral service will be held at Funaria La Paz in Sucat, Paranaque City, Philippines. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter in Dr. Zaida P. Padua-DeOcera's name.

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Dr. Zaida Padua DeOcera

September 9, 1938 - January 4, 2014