Virginia Antonia Cepeda Guzman

Virginia Antonia Cepeda Guzman was born on Guam, June 13, 1924, the eldest daughter of Pedro Mendiola and Maria C. Cepeda. She met and married the love of her life, Jose Muna Guzman, a Navy steward, on February 24, 1946. Together, they traveled throughout the U.S. mainland on Joe’s tours of duty. Their homes away from home were in Washington D.C., Jacksonville, FL, Norfolk, VA, San Diego, CA, and Quincy, MA. Along the journey, they were blessed with three sons and two daughters.

In 1962, Joe retired from the Navy with the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer and brought his family home to Guam. They built their “forever” home in Radio Barrigada where they raised their children. Over the years, Joe and Virginia were blessed with 16 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 9 great-great-grandchildren. Joe wanted to show Virginia more of the world and took her to Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Italy, British Columbia, Mexico, and Saipan. Those happy times were later met with sadness in the years to come. Joe and Virginia were devastated when they lost their son, Frank Thomas on June 25, 2000. Sadly, Joe passed away a year later on December 22, 2001. The death of Frank and Joe, so close together, became a source of great sadness Virginia would carry the rest of her life.

In 2009, she moved to the mainland to be closer to her children in San Diego and Las Vegas, where she spent time in each of their homes. Virginia was a devout Christian. She and her sisters would visit with the sick at Guam Memorial Hospital and pray with and for the patients in all the wards. She was active in church activities, traveling to Christian conventions in many U.S. cities. In 2016 at the age of 92, Virginia traveled to Israel on a pilgrimage with her church. She was enlightened by this religious experience and continued to be a “prayer warrior” for her family and for those less fortunate. On June 3, 2020, Virginia passed peacefully in her sleep in La Mesa, California. She was 95 years old.