Purificacion C. Raugust
January 1st, 1929-March 12th, 2022
Purificacion (Rita) C. Raugust passed away peacefully on March 12th, 2022 surrounded by her family at home in Hemet, CA. She was 93 years old. She was born on January 1st, 1929. The youngest child of Tarcela Mendoza and Bartholomew Caccam, she had 11 siblings. She was raised in the Philippine Islands in a small town of Naguilian, La Union. She had many extended family members living throughout the world. She survived the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Philippines in World War II and she was the only one of her family to attend college.
She is survived by her husband of 60 years Robert Raugust Sr. She had 5 children and their families: Jocelyn and Randy Bayless, Gina and Tom Cassidy, Cyndie and Bob Jones, Tarcela Raugust (Flory) and Michelle and Robert Raugust Jr. She leaves her legacy with her 6 grandchildren: Garen and Trevor Bayless, Kaelin and Delaney Cassidy, and Benjamin and Jacob Flory.
Due to her husband’s naval career, the family moved between stations before finally settling down in Oceanside, California where they lived for 32 years. Upon her husband’s retirement, they moved to Hemet, California where they have resided since the year 2000.
She had multiple passions and hobbies including gardening, cake decorating, flower arranging, lawn and hardwood bowling, watching her favorite team, the San Diego Padres and travelling across America and the world. Since retiring, they drove cross country covering almost all the
states including Hawaii and a cruise in Alaska. They would often stop at different casinos throughout the US to play nickel and dime slot machines, and her largest win was $3,000. She also travelled to Europe with a niece, and loved the countryside of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Her travels often included visiting extended family members across America and Canada.
Her husband Robert introduced her to bowling and that blossomed into a lifelong passion. Her greatest triumph was achieving a high score of 220 in one of the tournaments. When she entered her senior years, she transitioned to lawn bowling with the same competitiveness and
skill. For 10 years, she competed in the Hemet-area Oldlympics and often took home gold medals in the bowling and lawn bowling categories.
She was a wonderful wife and mother and an exceptional grandmother. Often traveling to different states to watch her grandchildren compete in their various sports and extracurricular activities.
Though she was short in stature, she was described as a force of nature. She always had a wonderful smile and sparkle in her eyes. An impeccable dresser, she often got compliments about looking younger than her stated age. She found joy and pride in her family. In her last year of life, she was asked how she felt about her journey, and she said that she had no regrets with a life fulfilled and reminded us of her motto: “Stay active and be happy.” She will be sorely missed.
