Cecilia Manzano Steinmetz

Cecilia Manzano Steinmetz, a loving mother, wife, and friend, slipped away gently and in the comfort of family on July 14 after a courageous seven-month journey with ovarian cancer. She was 50 years old.

Cecilia was born in Digos, in the provincial capital of Davao del Sur, Philippines, on April 30, 1976, to the late Lucio Manzano and Balbina Baculpo. As a young child, she fled with her parents to Hingotanan Island after her father was threatened for feeding the revolutionaries of The New People’s Army. Cecilia grew up in a small island community of a few thousand, where she learned the values of compassion, connection, and altruism.

Cecilia moved to the mainland for college and attended the University of Cebu. It was in Cebu City where she met a kind and adventurous man from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and fell in love. Cecilia and Brian Steinmetz wed in the Philippines on December 17, 1996, and then again shortly after in Eau Claire.

After bravely moving over 8,000 miles away from home, Cecilia built a new home in Wisconsin that was filled with giggling children, karaoke parties, warm meals, and a lot of love. She was a relentlessly hard worker who always stood up for herself and others and did so with a smile on her face. A majority of her career was spent as a certified nursing assistant at a retirement home and then later as a rural postal carrier in Fall Creek for USPS. Her mission was truly to help others.

Cecilia loved to sing. She had a beautiful voice. She poured her heart into her garden and cooking, which led to a yard full of flowers and plates never empty. Her warmth, positivity, and kindness inspired those around her and will continue to live on through her loved ones.

She was preceded in death by her parents. Cecilia’s legacy lives on through her husband, Brian; daughters, Channa and Camille; and their four-legged pets (Cecilia loved animals very much, and would want them to be included).

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2026, at Hulke Family Funeral Home, 3209 Rudolph Rd., Eau Claire. Visitation will be held from 12 p.m. until the time of service.

Memorial donations may be made in Cecilia’s honor to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance or the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition; organizations that further the fight and offer support for patients and caregivers.

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