Francisca Angela Concepcion Matta Chen, born on October 2, 1943 Iloilo Province, Estancia Town, Philippines, passed peacefully on Friday, April 26, 2019.Francisca was lovingly known as Nene to her husband of 48 years, Morrie S. Chen, Mom to her children and Grandma Chen and Lola to her grandkids.Born to Dr. Placido Babas Matta and Francisca Jardiniano Conception, she has three siblings: Placido Noel C. Matta Jr. (passed), Florenda C. Matta Su (passed), and Teodoro Procopio C. Matta.

Francisca ("Frances" "Nene") moved to California in 1966 with her older sister where she met and was madly in love with Morrie S. Chen.They were married on Janurary 31, 1971 and had three children: Angela Lynn, Jerry Roy, and Ilene Ann.

Francisca worked as a Registered Nurse for over 40 years for both Kaiser and Hoag Hospital (Newport
Beach, CA).She held accomplishments and certifications in: Neonatal Resuscitation, Chest X-Ray Interpretation, Fetal Demise, Assisting with Umbilical Catheterization, Advances in Perinatal Medicine, Assisting with Neonatal Exchange Transfusion, Fluid and Electrolyte Needs of the Neonate, Nursing Management of the Neonate Requiring Cardio-Pulmonary Monitoring, Arterial Blood Gas Interpretation.She also worked at the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa, and worked as a Home Health Care RN.

Francisca is survived by her husband, Morrie Sheng-Hsiung Chen, and her three children – Angela Lynn (married to Thomas Brian Panchak), Jerry Roy, and Ilene Ann (married to Richard Jon Plascencia), and six grandchildren (Jonathan Christian Panchak, Joel Thomas Panchak, Jamie Lynn Panchak, Ava Noel Plascencia, Ellie Ann Plascencia, and Clara Rose Plascencia). She is also survived by her younger brother, Teodoro Procopio ("Ted" "Boy").

Francisca's greatest joys were definitely her children and grandchildren.She also had the great pleasure of traveling to Hawaii, especially Kauai, Saint John in eastern Canada, Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise, western Canada and Lake Tahoe, to name a few of her vacation destinations with her husband.

Francisca had a passion for life and a loving and sweet personal relationship with Jesus Christ.She attended her church, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, and also attended the Friday morining Joyful Life Women's Ministries for over 20 years.

Francisca had many hobbies, including gardening, making and collecting jewelry, collecting rare sea shells, collecting cute small items such as dolls, crystal statues and stuffed animals.She participated in hula dancing classes at the senior club, played ukulele, loved to go swimming, enjoyed eating fruits and foods from her hometown in Philippines, and loved talking on the phone with relatives and friends.

She was particularly fond of her fruit trees and planted her avocado tree from a seed in 1975 when Jerry was born.The avocado tree is healthy and produces amazing avocado's each year.Frances also has loquat, guava, persimmon, mango, cherimoya, kumquat, calamansi, and an array of orchids and cymbidium orchids that she propogates and grows as a hobby.She also loved to make her own guava jam and jelly.

Francisca is found in about half of her pictures wearing a swim suit and either swimming in the water or near water and the beach.She loved to fish and swim, was spontaneous, whimsical, adventurous, and uninhibited in meeting people and also sharing her faith with just about everyone.

She is missed and loved very much!

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15