January 12, 1942 – May 15, 2026
Nita Bautista Esperanzate was born 12 January 1942 to Raphaela nee Rincoraya Bautista and Victorino Bautista in Urdaneta, Pangasinan in the Philippines. She was 84 years young on the evening of Friday the 15th of May 2026 when she succumbed to a brief and sudden pneumonia at St Boniface General Hospital.
Her husband of 54 years, Winston Arizala Esperanzate, passed on the 18th of January 2022. She is survived by her son Dr. Patrick Esperanzate, his wife Dr. Jennifer Whelan and her grandchildren who are the apples of both her and Winston’s eyes, Emily Jane and Isabella May Esperanzate. She was the middle child of three. Older brother Ador was the eldest child/son who is survived today by her nephew Alex and niece Lisa. Younger brother Liberato (“Ray”/“Reby”) was the youngest and is survived by Auntie Lota and nephew Michael and niece Sheila in Toronto.
She finished nursing school in the Philippines and came over to the United States to Hannemann University hospital in Philadelphia. She then moved to Chicago and worked at the famous Cook County hospital where the 90s TV series show ER was based. There, she worked as a registered nurse in the urology unit. She met her soon to be husband, Winston, who worked in the psychiatry unit. They married on 04 February 1967.
They returned back to the Philippines for a short while before moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba. They worked at the old Riverview Hospital for a few years before moving to Beausejour and Selkirk, Manitoba and working in the local hospital units.
On returning to Winnipeg, Nita became the first Filipino Registered Nurse that worked at the tertiary Health Sciences Centre. She continued to work both there as the Women’s Hospital R5 unit charge nurse as well as a side full-time job at Holy Family Nursing home – both for over three decades. At work, she had fun with her staff and colleagues and always made time to make and eat Filipino food with them.
At home, she always loved to chat with her friends and experience world travel early on in her marriage – she had travelled to almost 30 countries.
While at St. Joseph’s Nursing Home, she was well admired and loved by fellow staff and residents alike. She had the time to still impart the skills she learned through life and her nursing career; as one St Joseph’s nurse advised, Nita taught her “empathy and compassion as a nurse” which would stick with that nurse forever. She was always a kind-hearted soul with all around her; she always wanted the best for those around her – namely her granddaughters Emily and Isabella.
In her final years, she was helped with the care of: Patrick, Jennifer, Emily, Isabella, her niece from her husband’s side and family (Hestia Esperanzate Prieto, husband/kids Cris, Thaddeus, Jan Ziv, Xan Gyan and Auntie Luming), as well as close family friends (namely Rosemarie and John DeLeon) for which she was always explicitly grateful.
For those who would like to attend services:
1) Viewing/Lamay services
6PM – 7PM AND APPROXIMATELY 830PM – 11PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME
Friday 12 June 2026
Celebrant Monsignor Maurice Comeault
St. Boniface (Catholic) Cathedral
180 De La Cathedrale Ave, Winnipeg, MB R2H 0H7
https://www.cstboniface.ca (https://www.cstboniface.ca/)
2) Funeral Mass (Same Evening – Friday 12 June 2026)
7PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME
Celebrant Monsignor Maurice Comeault
St. Boniface (Catholic) Cathedral
180 De La Cathedrale Ave, Winnipeg, MB R2H 0H7
https://www.cstboniface.ca (https://www.cstboniface.ca/)
For those who cannot attend in person and wish to watch the Funeral Mass: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl1E7mCc7GhQG7okxh1SMnQ
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society of Manitoba.
Family and friends are invited to share memories and condolences on Nita’s memorial page using the comment field below.