Obituary of Nenita Salvador Perlas

Nenita (Nita) Salvador Perlas, loving mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away July 17, 2023. She died peacefully in her sleep of conditions caused by dementia. Nita was born to Luciano and Angela Salvador on March 2, 1939 in Laoag City, a small coastal town in the Northern Philippines. Alongside her sister Mameng and brother Ruben (Ben), Nita’s childhood was filled with time on the family farms, music, and many social gatherings. Some of her favorite memories to laugh about were meeting Imelda Marcos (wife of former president and infamous shoe collector), and being playfully tossed in the air by Japanese occupying forces during World War II. She formed her love of music and singing as a member of the Glee Club and Girl Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps in high school. In 1960, she earned her BS in Nutrition and Chemistry at the Philippine Women’s University in Manila. Following that, she had an opportunity to continue her schooling at Loyola University in the United States where she eventually earned her Masters of Education in Guidance and Counseling. She completed her education with a dietetic internship at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. Nita settled down as a Clinical Dietician in Portland, where she spent time with lifelong friends Karen and Lani, and met the love of her life and husband-to-be, Richard (Dick) Perlas. She and Dick gave birth to David in 1970 and Kevin in 1972. She loved cooking, bowling, playing tennis, gardening, traveling, and belting out hymns in church. Dick passed away of pancreatic cancer in 2001. Heartbroken, but determined to make the most of life, Nita found courage and support through her church and friends. She became a strong, independent woman and an amazing grandma (“Lola”) to three grandchildren, Levi, Jamie, and Colin.