Rodelia "Odette" (Ople) Ong

Rodelia “Odette” Ople Ong, 84, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, of Moon Township, PA, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 20, 2025. Born November 27, 1940, in San Nicolas, Bulacan, Philippines, Odette was the daughter of the late Semeon and Semeona Ople. She attended Torres High School (Class of ’59), where she made many cherished, lifelong friendships. She then attended FEATI University where she met her future husband, George, early in her college days, after he chatted her up while posing—rather unconvincingly—as a campus tour guide. Odette later earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Following graduation, she moved to Montreal for three years and then to Milford, NH, where she and George married on July 12, 1969, and soon after had their first two children, Joseph and Maria. The family moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1972, settling in Moon Township where Odette and George’s third child, Patrick, was born in 1980. Odette had a long career in corporate planning and accounting at several companies, including Bayer and Calgon Carbon. She was a longtime parishioner of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church.

For many years, Odette and her family enthusiastically participated in the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh (FAAP, formerly Samahang Pilipino ng Pittsburgh). Many of their friendships—relationships as close as kin—grew out of their involvement with FAAP. Odette served as the organization’s president from 1987 to 1988. For over two decades, she co-led the planning and cooking for FAAP’s food booth at the annual Pittsburgh Folk Festival. Odette loved to cook for others. She was celebrated for her pancit palabok, leche flan, and many other Filipino dishes. She taught local cooking classes at Robin Hill Park in Moon and even appeared on a morning television show to demonstrate how to make empanadas. She was also an avid bowler with the Pilipinas Bowling League.

Odette is survived by George, her husband of 56 blessed years; her daughter, Maria (Mia) Ong, and husband, Winthrop Brown (Carlisle, MA); her son, Patrick J. Ong (Austin, TX); and her grandsons, Joseph G. Ong, Jr., Virgil J. Ong, and Luke W. Ong-Brown. She is also survived by her best friend/sister, Erlinda Ople Villanueva (San Diego, CA), and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her son, Joseph G. Ong, Sr., as well as her siblings Mercedes Gutierrez, Peping Carpio, Alfonso Eusebio, and Leonardo Tiongson.

Prayers of Commendation and the funeral procession will take place on Monday, December 1, at 9:00 am from Copeland Funeral Home, 981 Brodhead Road, Moon Township, PA. At 10:00 am at St. Margaret Mary, 1 Parish Place, Moon, Odette’s Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Sunday, November 30, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. The committal ceremony will follow in the Chapel of the Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, 100 Resurrection Road, Moon. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh, filampgh.org or 200 Church St., West Mifflin, PA 15122.