Leticia “Nini” Laico Elizaga, MD, 84, formerly of Morton, Washington, passed away on Dec. 17, 2023 in Menlo Park, California.
Nini was the second child of 11 born to Dr. Jaime E. Laico, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, and Luz Los Baños, a real estate investor, in Manila, Philippines. After graduating from high school at St. Scholastica's College, Manila, she obtained her medical doctor’s degree from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine (UPCM) in 1962. She married her medical school classmate, Daniel P. Elizaga, MD, and taught in the department of anatomy at UPCM. The Elizagas immigrated to the U.S. in 1969 and settled in Morton, Washington. Nini raised five children while her husband had a busy private practice in primary care and surgery. She worked for several years as an MD in her husband's practice and at Western State Hospital, Tacoma. In later years, the couple had opportunities for extensive travel when her husband took frequent assignments as a cruise physician with Holland America.
Nini enjoyed being part of the Morton community for 45 years. She was a devout member of the Catholic church. After her husband retired, they divided their time between homes in Tacoma, Washington, and Tampa, Florida, where Nini had two sisters and several cousins. After she was widowed in 2019, Nini moved to Menlo Park to live with her younger daughter. Since 2014, Nini had been progressively disabled by a frontotemporal dementia syndrome, which eventually robbed her of speech, expression, ease of swallowing and mobility, but not her resilience, inner strength, close relationships, and sense of humor — she could still laugh at jokes.
Nini is survived by her five children, Cristina Ford, Peppy Elizaga, Marnie Elizaga, MD, Andrew Elizaga, MD, and Rick Elizaga; 12 grandchildren, Eamon, Isabel and Marie Ford; Brandon, Christopher and Sidney Elizaga; their sister, Malia Spath; Joel and Phoebe Elizaga; Rahim and Karim Ullah and Yohji Elizaga; four great-grandchildren, Dominic and Camila Heynen, Ezra Spath and Arthur Ford; six remaining sisters, Cristina Flores, Rosario Santayana, Dulce Juarez, Milagros Villaseñor, Aurora Packwood and Lourdes Laico; and their families.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 13, 2024, at St. Denis Catholic Church, 2250 Avy Ave, Menlo Park, California, with a reception following at 1135 Altschul Ave. In lieu of flowers, please consider a charitable contribution in memory of Nini Elizaga to Brain Support Network, www.brainsupportnetwork.org, P.O. Box 7264, Menlo Park, California, 94026. Brain Support Network facilitates brain donation for diagnosis and research of less common neurodegenerative diseases such as FTD. Nini donated her brain to help families in the future as well as to provide her family with a definitive diagnosis.
