Nilda G. Merida (Gequillana)

Funeral services for Nilda Merida of Keene, Texas will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 3, 2019, at the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church Chapel. Pastor Harley Charles will officiate. Burial will follow in Keene Memorial Park Cemetery.
A visitation for family and friends will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. Saturday, March 2, 2019 at Rosser Funeral Home.
Serving as pallbearers will be Brandon Drapiza, Marcus Herndon, Robert Drapiza, Richard Drapiza, Russell Drapiza and Andre’ Drapiza.
On Sunday, February 24, 2019 Nilda Merida, loving wife and mother of two children, and grandmother of seven, passed to her rest at the age of 83.
Nilda was born on May 10, 1935, in Binalbagan, Philippines to Emilio and Eugenia Gequillana. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in the Philippines, having studied at Mountain View College, Philippine Union College, and Manila Sanitarium.
She moved to the United States in the mid 1960’s where she practiced nursing for over 40 years. On March 15, 1981, she married Vincent Merida in Michigan.
Nilda had a passion for cooking, often cooking her famous egg rolls for various church functions, school events, and for anyone else who wanted them. More recently, she loved to watch cooking shows on YouTube in hopes that it would stimulate her appetite.
She also liked to travel, having visited the Holy Land, and made several trips back to the Philippines.
Those who knew Nilda knew her to be a kind and compassionate lady. Her life was one of service. She dedicated her life to her church, her sons and her grandchildren. She would often bring up her grandchildren in conversation, recalling various humorous conversations and adventures with them. She was so proud of all of them. Nilda made many lifelong friends.
She made many friends through her work as a nurse and as a member of this church and the Cleburne SDA Church. She was generous to a fault, having supported her family in the Philippines for many years.
Nilda was preceded in death by her father, Emilio and mother, Eugenia.
She is survived by her husband, Vincent; her sons, Ernie Drapiza and wife, Shirley and Bobby Drapiza and wife, Sue; grandchildren, Kristy Drapiza, Andre’ Drapiza, Russell Drapiza, Marcus Herndon, Brandon Drapiza, RC Drapiza, and Wesley Drapiza, and their mother, Sheila Drapiza; as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews here in North America and Philippines.