THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 28, 1997 TAG: 9701280058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 121 lines
MIKE AND Cathy Villaluz were no different from many other young couples.
Last September, they celebrated their first wedding anniversary and bought their first home, in Portsmouth's Park Manor.
Three weeks ago, they had a baby.
But less than two weeks after Mike Villaluz became a father, he became a widower. The 23-year-old buried his 24-year-old wife at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens last week.
Cathy Villaluz died of pneumonia in a Virginia Beach hospital Jan. 18, just 10 days after giving birth to the couple's son.
``We don't understand how it happened so fast,'' Villaluz said.
It was October, and Cathy Villaluz was in her sixth month of pregnancy, when she caught a cold.
``She started getting this hacking cough that she just couldn't quite shake,'' said Janice Nyman, Cathy's mother.
The illness continued through the end of her pregnancy.
On Jan. 8, at Virginia Beach General, she gave birth to a healthy 7-pound, 1-ounce baby boy, Matheau Antonio.
Three days later, Nyman said, the baby went home from the hospital. His mother never did.
``We got the call Saturday morning,'' Nyman said. ``The doctor said, `Get over here now.' He called about 4:30 a.m., and before we got over there, she was already gone.''
A spokesman for Virginia Beach General, citing confidentiality rules, would not provide details on Cathy's case.
Although her illness and the difficulty of childbirth left her weak, Cathy spent as much time as she could with her newborn son during his short stay in the hospital.
``The baby was pretty much in the room with her the whole time,'' her husband said.
Matheau was born with a full head of hair, just like Cathy's first son, Michael, a 5-year-old from a previous marriage.
``We noticed the baby has the bottom part of her face, from about her nose down,'' Nyman said. ``But on up, from the eyes to the hair, he's all Mike because he's got black hair.''
Nyman, who has lived with the Villaluzes for the last year, will continue living with her son-in-law and take care of the baby while he works. Mike is an assistant service manager at a local car dealership.
``We're doing the best we can,'' Nyman said. ``Most of the time, Mike gets up in the middle of the night with Matheau, and I'm usually the one who puts him down.''
Villaluz said his return to work had helped him cope.
``It's a way of getting things off my mind,'' he said.
If there's one lesson Villaluz has learned from he wife's death, he said, it's how important it is not to take life for granted.
``There's a lot of things I miss about Cathy - always having somebody to be able to talk to, to straighten out problems with,'' he said.
``Generally, I miss her company - always being there for me.''
Cathy's best friend, Chrissy West, visited her in the critical care unit the Thursday before she died.
``When I walked in and saw her, it was a shock,'' West said. ``I couldn't believe it. It didn't seem real. It still doesn't.''
Just one week before, West was laughing and visiting with her friend in the maternity ward.
On this visit, West saw a heavily sedated Cathy, with tubes in her nose and down her throat. Intravenous lines ran from both arms. Machines surrounded her hospital bed.
``I couldn't stay long because I just couldn't stand to look at her that way,'' West said. ``I told her how much I loved her and cared about her and wanted her to get better.''
On the day of her friend's death, West visited the Park Manor home the Villaluzes shared with Cathy's mother.
When West arrived, Cathy's 5-year-old son told her: ``Mommy's passed away, but I have a picture of her.''
After showing the picture to West, he carried it over to a computer where he had been playing.
Villaluz says he doesn't think his stepson completely understands his mother's death.
``We explained to him that she was up with the angels, with God, that He's taking care of her now and that she's looking over us,'' he said.
Before her daughter's funeral, Nyman had a roll of film developed. It contained pictures taken after the baby was born.
``We took a picture of the four of them,'' she said. ``You can't quite see Cathy, but you can see Mike, Michael and Matheau in the hospital room. We put several of those in the casket with her.''
Cathy Nyman Villaluz, a member of Community United Methodist Church, would turn 25 on Valentine's Day. She is a 1990 graduate of Cradock High School.
``It just seems so bittersweet,'' said Claudia Trueblood, one of many high school teachers who attended Cathy's funeral.
``I got a Christmas card from her about a month ago, and she was really excited because she was going to have a baby.''
In her four years at Cradock, Cathy was a cheerleader, played powder-puff football and was an officer with the Monogram Club, a group dedicated to promoting school spirit.
According to her 1990 yearbook, Cathy's ambition was ``to attend college, get married and live a long, happy, successful life.''
``She was a very popular girl, had lots of friends and was very much involved in student activities,'' said Dave Willett, Cathy's senior class sponsor. ``It's just a shame, it really is. I feel so sad about the whole thing.'' MEMO: Friends have set up a fund to cover the family's medical and
funeral expenses. Contributions may be sent to: Cathy's Fund, c/o Hall
Auto Mall, 3152 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va. 23452. Attn:
Art Cohen. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
Family photo from 1994 shows Cathy N. Villaluz, her husband Mike and
Cathy's son, Michael Kurus, Cathy gave birth t Matheau Villaluz on
Jan. 8 and died 10 days later of pneumonia.
MIKE HEFFNER
The Virginian-Pilot
Mike Villaluz holds his healthy 2-week-old son, Matheau, while his
mother-in-law, Janice Nyman, looks on.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY