Angela Lapitan

Angela Lapitan, age 93, of Puyallup, Washington, left this earth on March 13th, 2025, in Tacoma, Washington. She was lovingly surrounded bedside by her children and grandchildren as she peacefully transitioned into her next journey. Born on February 9, 1932, she was the baby sibling of 7 brothers and sisters, and the youngest child of Augustine and Delfina Bustos in Pampanga, Philippines. 

As a child, she and her family endured the hardships of WWII, before settling into a provincial life in Pangasinan as a young woman. In 1964, she met and married an American citizen, Mauro S Basa, also from the province of Pangasinan, and returned with him to the United States to begin a new life in Sumner, Washington. Her first born child, a son, Mauro B Basa, was born in 1965 and her second born child, a daughter, Delly B Basa, was born in 1968. Her beloved children were to be her pride and joy throughout her life. In 1970, with the death of her husband of only five years, tragedy struck when she became a young widow with two small children. Faced with the towering decision of how she would continue her life as a single mother, she bravely made the choice to stay in the United States, despite her family’s insistence in the Philippines to return and raise her children there. She received help and assistance from the small Filipino American community in the Sumner area to courageously continue her and her children’s lives, contributing richly to the American fabric. She married again in 1973 to Carl A Lapitan, also from the Philippines, to raise a family and thrive in the Filipino community and beyond. 

She was an avid member of the Filipino American Community of Puget Sound and a long time parishioner of St. Andrews Catholic church in Sumner. As a skilled and keen cook, she introduced her neighbors to the joyful flavors of Filipino dishes, as well as feeding a generation of local Filipino Americans through her culinary skills and parties celebrating birthdays, baptisms, confirmations, 4th of July, Thanksgivings and Christmas. One of her great passions in life were games of chance and skill. At parties, after all the food was enjoyed and the dessert table set out for all to enjoy, she was always found at the Mahjong table mixing tiles and matching skill and luck with her friends. She particularly loved Bingo and the bright lights and bells of a slot machine, always generously sharing her winnings and good fortune with her friends and family. Angela was preceded in death by both of her husbands, Mauro and Carl, and all seven of her siblings.

Angela is survived by her son Mauro Basa, of Puyallup, her Daughter Delly Behen, her son-in-law, Steven Behen, her grandson Dillon Behen, all of Seattle, granddaughter Brianna Russell (Kyle Russell) of Lynwood, as well as numerous nieces and nephews in the Philippines and points beyond. Angela’s memorial service will be held at St. Andrews Catholic Church on March 31st at noon and will be interred in the Sumner Cemetery.