Gloria Campanilla Groothuis

With great sorrow and deep love, we announce the passing of Gloria Campanilla Groothuis, who peacefully departed this world on July 27, 2025, at the age of 80, due to complications related to pulmonary and respiratory health. Gloria passed at home, just as she had always wished - surrounded by the love and warmth of her devoted family.

Gloria was born on April 20, 1945. She grew up in the vibrant town of Carcar, Cebu, Philippines, where she was raised with strong values of family, faith, and generosity. She carried those values with her for the rest of her life, sharing them freely with everyone fortunate enough to know her.

She spent much of her early life in Lapu-Lapu City, where she worked in the food industry and touched the lives of many with her dedication and kindness. It was in Cebu that fate introduced her to Darryl Groothuis, a young American serviceman stationed nearby. The two fell deeply in love, forming a bond that would carry them across oceans and cultures together. In the 1970s, they made their home in Bellingham, Washington, where they built a life together grounded in love, hard work, and community.

Gloria was a woman of radiant presence. Her warmth filled every room, and her joyful laughter was unforgettable. She had a remarkable ability to bring people together, often through food, which she prepared with both skill and soul. To Gloria, cooking was an act of love, and there was always a place at her table for one more. Her kitchen was the heart of every gathering, and her signature dishes, especially her pancit, became legendary among friends and family. As her beloved mother once said, “There’s no party without pancit,” a phrase Gloria lived by with pride and joy.

Generosity flowed naturally from Gloria. She gave without hesitation; her time, her love, her stories, her humor, and her famous home-cooked meals. Her ability to make others feel seen, loved, and cared for made her an easy favorite to all who met her. Whether she was making a clever joke or quietly listening with compassion, she made others feel at home in her presence.

She leaves behind a loving and grateful family who will carry her legacy forward; her husband, Darryl, their three sons: Felix, Gary, and Carlos, along with their partners, her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Additionally, her extended family members in Cebu, Philippines.

Each of them holds a piece of her spirit - her humor, her heart, her strength, and her immeasurable love.

Gloria’s life was a beautiful mosaic of cultures, family traditions, laughter, and resilience. Her story is one of migration, love, sacrifice, and celebration. She taught her family the value of hard work, the beauty of shared meals, and the importance of showing up for others.

Though our hearts ache with the weight of this loss, we find comfort in knowing that Gloria’s light continues to shine in those who loved her. She was, and will always be, a beautiful soul, a nurturing presence, and a source of joy and comfort to many.

Her memory will forever live on in the stories we tell, the recipes we pass down, the laughter we share, and the love we extend to one another.

Rest in eternal peace, Gloria Campanilla Groothuis. You were truly one of a kind, and the world was infinitely better with you in it. 

A graveside service will be at Enterprise Cemetery, 7041 Vista Drive, Ferndale, WA 98248, 11:00am, with a Celebration of Life following, 1:00pm at Hope in Christ Church, 710 East Sunset Drive, Bellingham, WA 98225.