A Great PersonI was recalling a person, whom I respected very much and still do respect well after his passing, and I recall him today because I was reminded of how some of high stature or a person who makes decisions today are complete opposites and self-serving.
Going to the day of his funeral, there were hundreds of people in a small town who attended and walked for miles in the hot humid day to his final resting place. I remember there was a band playing in the procession and walking along with the other mourners. I learned later the band was provided by an old friend that he had helped from their long past. He too helped with me into my marriage, but I’ll leave that part for later.
On one occasion as I drove this person to a meeting, I remember this was a meeting to help people who have served get their due recognition. I had sat in the meeting with them everyone on the table had a stake in the meeting, because they too were the very people who also wanted to be recognized for their service fighting alongside the Americans during the war in the Philippines. The person took his part in the meeting, he was not the head of the group I remember distinctly, because another person was heading the meeting doing much of the talking while others listened and he sat at the head of the table. I do not think the people in the meeting had a stature as this person, a physician and previously a politician for many years. The person certainly did not carry his former position and social rankings or ego with him in the meeting and was modest in every way. I remember a story that the person wife liked to share.
The story is, the person had gone out to buy a new car, a bigger car, because his family was coming to the US. He went to the dealer dressed in a t-shirt and looked at a brand new LTD, Lincoln Town Car, back in the day it was a nice car. The salesperson would tell him to look at other cars and to look in the used area. The person was frustrated and went to a different dealer and different carmaker and purchased a brand-new Cadillac. To make the story short, the salesperson probably did not believe the person could afford the new LTD, his loss. The person did not believe he had to go out in his Sunday clothes to look for a car in hot day, and of course it was comfortable just to go out in a t-shirt.
Going back to the story of myself getting married, the person had passed away and I attended the funeral. His funeral had brought me there and I was introduced to a beautiful lady that became my wife, and not even knowing for less than two weeks before getting married. Weeks after the person’s death his wife decided to travel and see old friends. My wife and I decided to go. People always had good things to say about the person as we went to different places. One of the visits we stayed in a place where the owner was once a worker of the person. The worker certainly did not have means and was not wealthy by any means during the time he worked for the person, but now he had many employees that worked for him and was able to send his children to good schools. That worker did not forget the help the person had given him. On that day the worker had become wealthier then that the person had been, becoming a lumber provider in the region. The person who provided the band was a wealthy person but had wanted to get into politics and the person helped to introduce him to the social gatherings. That wealthy person became a congressman, and the shipping line, William Lines, he owned became in its hay day one of the biggest passenger and cargo companies in the Philippines. There are others that he helped, like come abroad, but just to mention a few.
This person was well liked by the Presidents he served, such as President Manual Roxas, President Ramon Magsaysay, President Elpidio Quirino, President Diosdado Macapagal, and President Carlos P. Garcia.
Right to left: President Ramon Magsaysay, Gov. Gedeon Quijano, Congr. William Chiongbian
Right to left: President Carlos P. Garcia, Gov. Gedeon Quijano
Right to left: Gov. Gedeon Quijano, President Diosdado Macapagal
Right to left: President Elpidio Quirino, Gov. Gedeon Quijano
Right to left: Gov. Gedeon Quijano, President Manual Roxas
As days past my wife and I left the place, and we had not visited the place where the person had lived for years not until we had our own kids. After the person’s wife passed away my wife and I decided to go back and live at the person’s place. Years had passed and people still remembered the person and would reminisce the old days. There are many stories like this. A great person is remembered and rejoiced. The person I remember today is my grand-father and my grand-mother.
