Apolonia Encarnacion Estilo, MD

apolonia estilo, md
Apolonia Encarnacion Estilo MD, aka Poñi, passed away peacefully surrounded by loving family in McLean, VA on Monday, October 18, 2021 at the age of 95. She was born in the Philippines on February 9, 1926, the ninth child of Pastor and Jacinta Vales Encarnacion of Santa Isabel, Kawit, Cavite. Dr. Estilo graduated medical school in 1953 from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. Ahead of her time and paving the way for women physicians, she left for the US after medical school to intern at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Estilo then moved to Washington DC and completed a residency in anesthesiology at Georgetown University Medical Center in 1957. She completed a second residency in pediatrics at St. Luke’s Hospital in NYC in 1959.



Dr. Estilo returned to the Philippines and joined the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of the East Medical School in Quezon City, Manila, where she met her husband, Dr. Bernardo Solis Estilo. They married in 1961, and emigrated to Albany, NY where Dr. Estilo worked as Chief Pediatric Resident at St. Peter’s Hospital in 1962. While in Albany, she completed a research fellowship in Cystic Fibrosis at Albany Medical Center and simultaneously started a family. After living briefly in New Haven and Brooklyn, Drs. Estilo settled in Howard Beach, Queens in 1974 where they raised their family. They were active parishioners at St. Helen Roman Catholic Church where their four children attended elementary school. Dr. Estilo was predeceased by her parents and all of her siblings (Teofila, Miguel, Leonides, Felicisima, Bienvenida, Eliseo, Cirilo, Soledad, Apolinario and Teotimo) as well as her husband Bernardo, aka Bernie, a trained cardiothoracic surgeon and emergency room physician who passed away suddenly in 1993.



Dr. Estilo worked as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, NY, winning teaching awards before her retirement in 1994. After leaving Howard Beach, Dr. Estilo lived briefly in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey from 2004 to 2007 where she joined the parish of St. Gabriel the Archangel in Saddle River, NJ, and participated in the Women’s Cornerstone Retreat. Dr. Estilo then moved to McLean, Virginia and became a parishioner of Saint Luke Roman Catholic Church in 2007.



Dr. Estilo was both a devout Catholic and a woman of science who strongly believed in the power of education to change lives. She actively practiced her Christian faith quietly in service to others, living by example and firm in the belief that people were put on Earth to “Love One Another”. Dr. Estilo was unwavering in her desire for independence; she was also generous, humble, pragmatic and soft-spoken. She prayed and exercised daily, maintained the healthiest of diets, and kept up with the latest developments in health and medicine through various medical newsletters. Dr. Estilo remembered the birthdays of all her extended family and friends. She generously gave to numerous charities and to people in need. She quietly supported the educational pursuits of many extended family members. Dr. Estilo worked as an active volunteer for her parish community until the young age of 93.



Dr. Estilo spent the last two years of her life bravely fighting ovarian cancer, undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. Clear of mind until the end, she was grateful to be blessed with a wonderful team of health care professionals at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Always committed to science, Dr. Estilo participated in MSKCC’s Last Wish Program to benefit future generations of patients by furthering cancer research.



Dr. Estilo is survived by her daughters Karen Estilo (John) Owczarski of McLean, VA, Michelle Estilo (Michael) Kaiser of Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ, Jeanne Estilo (Kenneth) Widerka of New York, NY, her son Alvin (Aileen Estavillo) Estilo of Monroe Township, NJ, and her twelve grandchildren: Kat, Jack, Kelly and James Owczarski; Nicole, Cindy and Christopher Kaiser; Lucas, Amanda and Bethany Widerka; and Laura and Lainey Estilo. She is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, and great grand-nieces and nephews. “Nanay Poñi” will be sorely missed as the matriarch of her devoted family.



Visitation will be held at Money and King Funeral Home, 171 W. Maple Ave., Vienna, VA on Friday, October 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Luke Catholic Church, 7001 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA on Saturday, October 30 at 11 a.m. Interment will be at St. Gertrude Cemetery in Colonia, NJ on Monday, November 1 at 11:00am. Memorial contributions may be made in Dr. Estilo's honor to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Georgetown University School of Medicine, the American Heart Association, or to St. Jude Children's Hospital.

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  1. May fond memories of Tita Ponyi bring comfort during this hard time. My heart and prayers go out to the family. Connie Zamora Alisuag

  2. With ate Ica, Ninang Toray, Ate Conching, Ate Benita with Ate Poñi… May GOD hold you and your family at this painful moment and gave you comfort as you and your family mourn .. our prayers and sympathy..??ate ica and Vinia

  3. Having met Poni only once when she attended a Rosary group brunch at the McLean Family Restaurant, she left me with the impression of a beautiful lady. May she rest in peace. Desmond O’Rourke.


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