Auntie Connie Ramirez
Auntie Connie was born Consuelo Antnio on 12 January, 1914, at Pahala on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. Her parents were Francisco Ytok (Frank) Antonio from Tarlac, Philippines, and Carmella Lugo of Puerto Rico. Consuelo was the oldest of seven children by her mother’s second marriage. The other
siblings born on the Big Island were Domingo, Frank, Alfonso, Benjamin. Her sister Rose was born on Oahu. By 1920, the Antonio family had moved to Honolulu and after a short stay moved back to the Big Island. On 24 March 1926, the family left for San Jose, CA aboard the S.S. President Taft, her father, Frank (Francisco), probably having left earlier. The 1930 Census found the family living in San Jose, CA. Frank (Francisco) Antonio was installed as president of the local Filipino Business Council in 1934. Consuelo and Rose sang at the event, providing the evening’s entertainment.
Consuelo married Eutiquio Aba (Tek) Ramirez in 1943. Tek was born c. 1907 in Tanjay, Negros Oriental, Philippines. He came to California by the way of Hawai‘i on the S.S. Calawii on April 2, 1927. He and Consuelo arrived in Watsonville in 1934. From 1935 to 1940, they lived in the Pajaro township with Consuelo’s brother Domingo. E. A worked as a foreman on a local farm.
Beginning 1950, Consuelo helped Tek in the operation of his labor contracting business, in which he oversaw a large labor camp for Sears Brothers on Mud Flats Road. Consuelo’s brother, Domingo, and nephews, Lani, Antonio, and Santos Ramierz, lived with them at the time. Tek and Consuelo traveled to the Philippines over the next few years and in the 1956 they brought his niece, Estelita Ramirez, back to live with them.
Consuelo and Tek were founding members of the Filipino Community of Watsonville. Consuelo was a founding member of the Filipino Women’s Club of Watsonville, as well as a member of the Sierra Madre Lodge.
Written by Juanita Sulay Wilson.