Nelinda was born on November 11, 1937, in Davao, Philippines, the daughter of Manuel Domingo and Loreto Ignacio Domingo. Though the first years of her life were marked by personal and national upheaval—she lost her mother to typhoid and grew up in the shadow of the Japanese occupation of World War II—Nelinda was a survivor and a problem-solver from an early age. She enjoyed sharing the story of how, as a child, she made her own small profit by selling cigarettes to the guests at her father’s mahjong parlor. Meanwhile, she contributed to the family business, helping to clean tiles and collect fees along with her three older siblings, and developed skills and a love of the game that stayed with her all her life.
Nelinda’s independence and spirit of adventure made her ready to make a home anywhere. While still in high school, she decided to move from her hometown in Mindanao to the capital city of Manila, several days’ journey away, where she worked in the Bureau of Plans. While there, she met Ramiro Inocencio, a civil engineer, who she married in 1957 after a whirlwind romance. The couple soon had four children, but they didn’t settle down. When Ramiro took a job in Afghanistan in 1963, Nelinda and their two oldest sons went with him. Later, they moved the whole family (now with five children) to Nigeria, and finally arrived (with six children!) in New York in 1969, joining Nelinda’s brother Manuel and Ramiro’s sister Erlinda in the U.S.
Hard work was always a big part of Nelinda’s life. While raising her growing family, she worked full time and studied to get her GED, holding jobs at a photography studio, a button company, a publishing house, and a philanthropic foundation. After the family moved to Arizona, she worked for the Arizona Department of Revenue and for the U.S. Postal Service.
At home, she was either busy at her sewing machine or busy in the kitchen. She was a talented cook, and extended family and friends looked forward to an invitation to dinner. For holidays with her kids and grandkids, she cooked feasts including each person’s favorite Filipino dish—and no matter the occasion, she never let a guest leave hungry. When it was time to relax, there was always Scrabble or mahjong.
Nelinda continued to explore the world with Ramiro in their retirement, enjoying the music and dancing on the many cruises they took. When his health no longer allowed them to travel, she was a strong and devoted caregiver until his death in 2020. Her final years were spent at the Peaceful Feeling group care home in Mesa, where she viewed the Filipino owners of Peaceful as a second family. She enjoyed daily games of mahjong and visits with her children and their families. Always a survivor, she fought courageously against her final illness, but passed away peacefully on June 29, 2023, surrounded by her family. She played mahjong until the very end. She nearly always won.
Nelinda is preceded in death by her husband, Ramiro Inocencio; her parents, Manuel Domingo, and Loreto Ignacio Domingo; and her brother, Manuel Jr. She is survived by her sisters, Violeta Rada, and Zenaida Pineda; six children, Ramiro Jr., Roberto (Sharon), Maria (Mark), Melizza, Ronald, and Ranier (Mistilynn); seven grandchildren, Deanna (Grae), Rosa, Richard, Haylee, Chelsea (Timothy), Stacey (Briggs), and Matthew (Danielle); and six great-grandchildren, Kanoah, Kayden, Tyler, Ryan, Kinsley, and Corey.