Daisy P. Tucay

Zelanda “Daisy” Purugganan-Tucay of McLean, Virginia passed away on Thursday, March 28, 2024 of cerebral aneurysm at the Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, with her loving husband and children at her side.

Daisy was born May 31, 1942, in San Fernando, province of La Union, Philippines, to the late Filemon Purugganan and Maria Quijano.

Daisy received her Registered Nurse education at the Quezon Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in the province of Quezon, Philippines, class of 1961, and later her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Philippine Women’s University in Manila. In 1963, she took her commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Nurse Corps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). She was assigned to medical hospitals in the AFP, notably the V. Luna Medical Center in Metro Manila and the Station Hospital of the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City. Here, she met the love of her life, Domingo F. Tucay, Jr. who was commissioned Ensign in the Philippine Navy soon after graduation. They married later and were blessed with two children, Kristine and Kevin.

In 1967, Daisy served wartime duties as a surgical nurse of the Philippine Contingent and later the Philippine Civic Action Group, Vietnam that was based in Tay Ninh, a province northwest of Ho Chi Minh City near the Cambodian border. Here, due mainly to her courage, hard work, and perseverance, she captured the admiration and hearts of the village people and the soldiers themselves, who fondly called her the “Rose of Tay Ninh.”

Her family moved to the United States in 1982 when her husband received orders to become the Naval Attaché at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC. In 1986, her husband retired from the naval service and her family immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Northern Virginia.

Through the years then, Daisy worked as an RN in metropolitan Washington, DC, notably at the Georgetown University Hospital, the HMOs Group Health Association and Humana, and the NutriSystem, a weight management products and services provider. She retired from nursing service in 2004.

In the United States, Daisy founded the Global Philippine Advocates of Retirement Care and Counsel, a community service association dealing on retirement and senior living for overseas Filipinos residing or intending to reside in the Philippines. She was the co-chair of the US Medicare PH, a movement working on the portability of Medicare in the Philippines, a campaign whose aim is to convince the US government to allow long-term Medicare benefits coverage for American citizens visiting or residing in the Philippines, with the slogan, “Bring Medicare Home!” Daisy was also an active member of the Alexandria Asian American Lions Club where she worked on various community service projects, domestic and foreign.

Daisy loved studying and collecting items of antiquity and vintage, particularly home furnishings and personal effects. She would at times take part-time employment in antiques stores if only to further her knowledge and skills as an antiquarian. Daisy was also an avid gardener, with keen interests in both tropical and cool weather plants. Passersby would occasionally stop by her front yard at home to admire and chat with her about the pretty flowers she had planted in her meticulously maintained garden.

Daisy leaves behind her beloved husband of 52 years, Jun; daughter Kristine and husband, Eric Thomas; and son Kevin and wife, Emely Manasan; granddaughter Stella Thomas; nieces Imelda Iames and Gemma Busby; grandnephew/niece Edward and Rosey Iames; and many other relatives and friends, too large a number to name.

Visitation and viewing will be at the Money and King Funeral Home in Vienna, Virginia on April 25th and 26th, 6 to 8 PM. Daisy’s Funeral Mass will be on April 27th, 2 PM at the St. John the Beloved Church, at 6420 Linway Terrace, McLean, VA 22101. Repast will follow soon after at the nearby St. John Academy Hall.

Memories and condolences may be posted and shared at the funeral home’s website at – https://www.moneyandking.com/obits/daisy-p-tucay/