Joselyn “Joy” Varquez Fontanilla, 61, of Kihei, Maui, passed away peacefully at her home on Monday, February 14, 2022, surrounded by family.
Joy was born on May 21, 1960, in Quezon City, Philippines, to the late Victoriano & Nieves Varquez. At 18, Joy moved to Oahu and attended community college, where she met her husband, Efren. In 1985, they had their first child, Amber, and moved to Maui a few months later. They then had their second child, Audrey, the following year. Joy worked for the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort for 20 years, and later ran a business cleaning homes.
Joy was well known for her beautiful singing voice. In her early life, she sang in a few bands and performed at many parties and events. She also sang in a few Tahitian competitions for her daughter's Tahitian group. She was a member of St. Theresa’s Life Teen Choir, St. Theresa’s Filipino Choir, and Saint Cecilia Choir. In addition to singing, Joy was passionate about dancing. She danced for Bailes de Pilipinas for many years and enjoyed teaching her friends dance routines to perform at parties. In 2002, she was crowned Mrs. Maui Filipina and was 2nd runner up in the Mrs. Hawaii Filipina pageant that same year. To further serve her community, she volunteered her time with the St. Theresa Filipino Catholic Club and Maui Filipino Community Council.
Joy is survived by her loving husband, Efren P. Fontanilla; daughters, Amber-Lynn (Bryson) Fontanilla Ching and Audrey Fontanilla; grandchildren, Rylan Ching, Colten Ching and Mia Ching; and siblings, Edgar Varquez, Leilani Varquez, Nelson Varquez, Maryvic (Danilo) Ramos, Robert (Soki) Varquez, Victoriano Varquez, Jr., Randolf Morales and Emelita (Alan) Price.
Services will be held at Norman’s Mortuary in Wailuku, on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Visitation begins at 9:00 a.m., service at 10:30 a.m., and burial to follow at Valley Isle Memorial Park in Haiku at 12:00 p.m.