Maria Margaret Rey

Maria Margaret Rey died at her home in Sonoma, California of natural causes on Saturday, September 1, 2018. She was 59. 

She was born January 16, 1959 in the Philippines to Henry C. Rey and Lilia G. Rey.  She was the second of three daughters.

Along with her parents and her two sisters, she immigrated to the United States in 1966.

Her early childhood, adolescence, and young adult years were spent in Los Angeles, California.  She was a well-respected and hard-working licensed vocational nurse at the different hospitals in the Southern California area.  She moved to Northern California sometime in the early 1990s, and she lived in Northern California ever since.  She lived in various places such as American Canyon and Vallejo. She moved to Sonoma in 2006, and she called this town her new “home”, as she felt the warm welcome in the community of friends, co-workers and acquaintances.

At her place of work in Sonoma, she was a well-respected employee who exemplified an excellent work ethic and was often admired by her co-workers for her sense of duty and integrity, and simply for being a good team player. She was warm and compassionate to her patients and was always ready to hold a hand in comfort.

Known to her family as simply “Bo-peep” or “Bop”, affectionate monikers carried over from childhood because she liked to listen to the nursery rhyme about “Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep, and can’t tell where to find them…”  She was also called by her friends by the nickname “Mama Rey”, one that embodied her nurturing and caring maternal nature.

She was also extraordinarily thoughtful, kind-hearted, gracious, warm, and funny.  She had a genius for friendship, and for bringing out the best in people around her.  She never forgot a birthday (of course she also reminded you that hers was coming up).  She wrote thoughtful cards, letters, and notes

She loved taking photos on her iPhone and was a devotee of “selfies”.  She took photos of the even the most mundane things such as a hat, a cup of coffee, or a pair of shoes or an activity such as going up the ramp of a plane. But in those photos, she captured the essence of the moment, which now are so precious in our memories.

Such was the life of “Bo-peep”—Maria Margaret Rey.

She is survived by her parents, Henry and Lilia Rey; by her siblings, Eugenia Blasa and Vida Lewis; by her nephews, Matthew Blasa and Brian Lewis; by her brothers-in-law, Raymond Blasa and John Mills; by her aunt and uncle, Julia Mojica and Roger Mojica, respectively; by her cousins, Ryan Mojica (his sons, Ano and Mateo) and Jennie Mojica. She is also survived by so many friends and acquaintances.

She is now a peaceful soul in heaven looking at us from above.

A memorial service and celebration of her life will be held on Friday, September 14, at 11:30 a.m. at St. Francis Solano Church, Sonoma.

Her family requests donations in her name to one of the non-profits she supported, listed below.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Maria Margaret Rey, please visit our floral store.