Lydia Reyes Gacad - Obituary

ydia Reyes Gacad, 81, a resident of Davidsonville, MD, and previously of Bowie, MD, passed away peacefully on May 8, 2026, at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Born in 1944 in Biday, San Fernando, La Union, Philippines, to the late Alfredo Naranja Reyes and Adelina Zamoranos (Reyes) Pulanco. She attended Lingsat Elementary School (now known as Lingsat Integrated School) and then graduated from La Union High School (now known as La Union National High School) in 1960. She attended college as a working student at Baguio Technical and Commercial Institute (Baguio University) and graduated with an Elementary Teacher’s Certificate in 1965. Inspired by relatives who were teachers, Lydia began her career as a teacher. She taught at Lingsat Elementary School at Calumbaya Elementary School in Bauang, La Union. During her teaching career in 1966, she was selected to represent the Northern Lugano Athletic Association as Miss NLAA and was pictured on the cover of the Ilokano magazine, Banawag. Lydia met the love of her life, Gerardo, in 1965 in the town of San Fernando, La Union, Philippines. Their relationship survived long distances between them, with Lydia in the Philippines and Gerardo completing his medical fellowship in Houston, TX, and Washington, DC. Eventually, they married in Quezon City, Philippines on Dec 22, 1969, in the Philippine Constabulary Chapel, now known as Saint Joseph Parish. Happily married, they emigrated to the United States in 1970 to settle first in an apartment in Cheverly, Maryland. They had 2 sons, Jonathan and Oliver. Gerardo started his career as a Pulmonologist, and Lydia was a stay-at-home mom caring for the two boys. The family moved to a home in Bowie, MD for 5 years, then to a home in Davidsonville, MD for the rest of their time together. Once Jonathan and Oliver went off to college, Lydia then took on a career as a medical billing and office manager at Gerardo’s medical office. While raising her two sons, Lydia served the Philippine community in the Washington, DC area through her participation in the Philippine Medical Association of Metropolitan Washington Auxiliary. In this service organization, she held board positions, and, most notably, it was here that she and Gerardo learned how to dance. For several years as a part of the PMAMW, they both enjoyed the hobby of ballroom dancing with their friends. Lydia and Gerardo were able to celebrate their milestone 50th wedding anniversary in 2019 with many family and friends together in Annapolis, MD. Sadly, Gerardo passed away from cancer in August 2020. Lydia had an eye for fashion and style - often designing and creating her own dresses as well as clothing for her sons. Jonathan and Oliver spent grueling hours at Jo-Ann Fabrics so that mom could craft her fashion-forward pieces. Her crafted clothing line even included brown corduroy pants custom tailored for her sons! Amusingly, Lydia passed her fashion sense entirely to Oliver and the bare minimum to Jonathan! But equal to her sewing prowess was her cooking talent, and she did a superb job with all kinds of food and in massive quantities. After all, she had 3 men in the family to feed, and they had large appetites! Cooking was how she showed her love to her family and friends. Many birthday parties, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and holiday celebrations at her home were graced by her creations. Her take on Philippine dishes like pancit (canton, bihon, and palabok), adobo, afritada, barbecue, crispy pork belly, and, of course, homemade lumpia were on the menu at any of these celebrations! She lovingly passed on her legacy of cooking talent to her sons, Jonathan and Oliver. In more recent years, her greatest cooking fan was her grandson, Nicholas, whose favorite dish was her crispy fried pork belly with a healthy serving of garlic fried rice! Lydia enjoyed gardening outdoors with Gerardo, and together they created colorful flower and vegetable patches in their 2-acre plot in Davidsonville. Springtime would always bring an abundance of God’s creation to their yard, and with these she crafted beautiful flower arrangements. Lydia was preceded in passing by her husband Gerardo, her parents Alfredo and Adelina, stepfather Andro, brothers Alfredo Junior and Crisanto, and stepbrothers Tim and Ike. She is survived by her son Jonathan with wife Leonor, and her son Oliver with wife Aileen and their son Nicholas, stepbrother Oscar, and stepsisters Jocelyn and Ina. Family and friends are invited to celebrate Lydia's life on Friday, June 5 from 1 to 4 pm at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, MD. Mass of the Resurrection will be offered on Saturday, June 6 at 11 am at Holy Family Catholic Church, 826 W Central Avenue, Davidsonville, MD 21035. Graveside service will be held at Lakemont Memorial Gardens, 900 W Central Ave., Davidsonville MD, 21035, on Monday June 8, 2026 at 10 am. The family has set up a livestream of all events by using the following link: https://bit.ly/4u17Fze Online condolences may be made using the Memories tab on this page.