Born in the Philippines, Antonio “Tony” Ferrer Santa Cruz, was the tenth of twelve children.

Tony passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Preceding him in death was his beautiful wife of almost 70 years, Asuncion “Sion” Santa Cruz, and his infant daughter, Gisela. He is survived by five children: Antonio, Jr., Rosario (Larry), Benedict (Kandace), Justina (Greg), and Maria (Doug); 11 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

Tony grew up in Manila, and after graduating from college he worked in Animal Husbandry/Agriculture before emigrating with Sion and their children to Seattle, WA. There he worked for IBM as a Systems Analyst, and later went on to retire from Boeing after many years.  After retirement, Tony and Sion moved to Virginia Beach to live in the care of their loving daughter and son-in-law, Rosario and Larry Walker.

As an avid tennis player until the age of 85, Tony loved to boast about beating players who were 20 years his junior.  Although he stopped playing, it was typical to see him glued to the TV when a major tennis tournament was showing.

Tony enjoyed the newspaper crossword puzzles, loved to play chess, and being the competitive personality that he was, he rarely turned down a worthy opponent. Tony watched Seattle sports teams on TV with his wife and family, but his favorite viewing screen was the computer monitor.  Although Tony’s keyboard showed the letters had long worn off, that was no deterrent to surfing the virtual library of the Internet, his last favorite pastime.  Normal aging took its toll, and our dear Lord finally called him home to join his wife. Family and friends miss him dearly. 🙏

A Memorial Mass will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church, 505 17th St. SE, Auburn, WA 98002, on Friday, June 20, 2025 at noon.  Inurnment to follow at the Bonney-Watson Columbarium at 16445 International Blvd., SeaTac, WA 98188. A Celebration of Life will be held at 5:00pm, Muckelshoot Resort Hotel-Prairie Banquet Room, 2402 Auburn Way S., Auburn, WA 98002.