Obituary: Lourdes M. Esclamado

Lourdes Mitra Esclamado, also known as Luly, age 95, of Rolesville, North Carolina went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on May 13, 2026. 

Lourdes was born on February 6, 1931 in Manila, Philippines to Ramon P. Mitra and Salud de Ocampo. She grew up in Manila where she attended school until WWII broke out when she was 10 years old. After the war, at 14, she recommenced her schooling and graduated from St. Theresa’s College in 1947. Throughout her childhood, Luly would enjoy family vacations in their summer home in Baguio, in northern Philippines, where her father was Congressman. Later, Luly went on to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of Santo Tomas, earning her degree in 1951. She quickly passed her Boards and immediately began teaching General & Analytic Chemistry in the pre-

med and pre-nursing programs at the De Ocampo Memorial Medical Center in Manila. In 1953, Luly continued teaching Chemistry at Far Eastern University in Manila. 

In 1951, Luly met the love of her life, Alejandro A. Esclamado in Baguio during her summer vacation. Alex is known to have corralled his ROTC officer musicians to serenade Luly at midnight, amongst his many attempts to win her heart. Alex & Luly were married on August 9, 1952, when Alex was starting his third year of law school. In July 1953, their first child was born. Then Alex graduated with his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Far Easter University in the Fall of that same year, passing the bar in his first attempt. He joined his father-in-law’s law firm in Manila and over the next five years, Alex & Luly had two more sons and a daughter. 

In 1959 Alex & Luly decided to pursue a life in the United States, opening the US Edition of the Manila Chronicle. The Philippine News was birthed in 1961 in the basement of the Esclamado home. This was the beginning of a life-long shared quest to unite and empower Filipino Americans to have a unified political voice. Alex & Luly began distributing their small paper locally then nationally, driving across the states to spread the Philippine News. From 1972-1986, as the Marcos dictatorship ruled their homeland, the PN became the opposing voice in the corridors of the U.S. Congress. Alex, Luly and their family stood steadfast in the face of opposition and oppression from the Marcos government who attempted to silence PN’s voice. Ultimately, Alex & Luly’s greatest legacy to their Filipino American community was the establishment of the National Association of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) which is the collective, unified voice of all Filipino Americans today. However, Luly would say her greatest joy & love, next to her husband, was for her family. She and Alex had three more children in the U.S. Luly’s beloved family legacy is that of her seven children, fourteen grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. A faithful wife, devoted mother/grandmother/great-grandmother, committed community leader, hard-working entrepreneur and woman of faith, Luly lived a life truly honoring to her Lord, sacrificially serving all whom she loved and others in need. 

Luly is survived by her younger sister, Cecilia Mitra Orbeta, her seven children: Carlos Esclamado (Ann M. Savage), Victor Esclamado (Veronica Bengzon), Ray Esclamado (Lorie Kerns), Elisa Glenn (Mack Glenn), Grace Groothoff (Ehrhardt Groothoff), Elena Esclamado and Alex Esclamado, Jr (Janet Girardot), her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Alejandro A. Esclamado, older brother, Ramon V. Mitra, younger sisters, Aurora Mitra Schtakleff and Marita Mitra Lewis, younger brother, Ramon O. Mitra and her beloved great-grandson Ty. 

A private mass and interment will be held for family. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial donations be made to the Esclamado Scholarship Fund, established to continue the Esclamado family's deep legacy of service, leadership, education, and community empowerment. 

Donations may be made directly through the following link: 

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/esclamado-scholarship 

All contributions are tax-deductible and will be restricted exclusively for scholarship purposes through EPYC (Empowering Filipino Youth Through Collaboration).