Washington, D.C.’s community of Filipinos and Filipino Americans gathered this month to mark a rare distinction: one of their own, Evangeline “Vangie” Paredes, has reached 110 years of age and now holds the title of the city’s oldest living resident.
The Philippine Embassy joined the tribute. Deputy Chief of Mission Felipe Cariño III relayed the mission’s greeting, telling Paredes, according to ABS-CBN’s TNT, “Happy 110th birthday, Ms. Paredes! We hope you enjoy your special day. We wish you continued good health, happiness, and many more joyful moments. Mabuhay!”
Her working life placed her close to some of the defining figures of the Philippine wartime government. While the Philippine government operated in exile from the U.S. capital during World War II, she served as secretary to President Manuel L. Quezon and afterward took on the role of public relations officer at the embassy. Her government employment ran from 1936 to 1957, a stretch that included work under the diplomat Carlos P. Romulo.
A second career followed at the Pentagon, where she spent three decades as a U.S. civil servant. That tenure ended with the highest civilian award available to federal employees — a recognition she earned before turning to volunteer work.
Retirement did not slow her involvement. For roughly forty years she remained active with AARP as an advocate and organizer, and she stayed a long-standing member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, spending time with veterans in hospitals. Her connection to service members was personal; her father had joined the U.S. Navy, arriving from the Philippines to serve during World War I.
Asked what accounts for such an extraordinarily long life, Paredes has kept her answer plain. “Volunteer, when you can,” she has said. “Do your best and always find ways to help others.”
She was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 26, 1916, to Tomas Rulloda Abellera, the Navy veteran, and Francisca Estrada, a translator originally from Asturias, Spain. The family settled in Washington when Paredes was a young child, part of an early wave of Filipino migration to the District.
