A family friend and a fellow countryman recently passed away this week. His life was claimed by a hideous disease of pancreatic cancer. If I remember correctly, Alan battled this sickness for a year and two months to be exact, based on its first diagnosis.
In his happy and healthier days, Alan was quite a personality. A very proud and aggressive person he has the knack of getting his way on whatever he wants specially for his family and friends. He has such a magnetic persona that those who are close to him is at the same time loyal to him. A talented person, he loves to sing and dance. A grandfather, a father, a brother, a husband and a lover, that's what Alan was to his family and friends.
Yes, just like you and me, Alan is far from perfect. He also has his flaws and shortcomings but when a person leaves us permanently to face his Creator, isn't it proper to think of all things good about that person to remember him by? Indeed Alan have touched the lives of all the people he met and befriended as proven by the filled up chapel during his funeral services.
Likewise, Alan have touched my life in a certain way. Back in our hometown of Maasin in the Philippines, I only knew Alan because of his influential family. We were never close at that time. He knew my family since our families were also connected by bloodline but that was it. He left the Philippines long time ago that I cannot remember anymore, but I met him again when I joined my parents here in Las Vegas last November of 2000. There were already several friends from Maasin that were living here in Las Vegas. I never experienced homesickness when I moved here because of these friends. As a natural leader, he founded the Kaba-Maasin, an association of men and women from Maasin who are now living here in Las Vegas, with him as the president. With Alan's encouragement, I was able to construct a website exclusively for Kaba-Maasin and I called it simply as "Kaba-Maasin Online". The association's original purpose was to celebrate the Maasin fiesta every year here in Las Vegas during the month of August complete with novena prayers to the town's Patron Saint, Our Lady of the Assumption. During these activities, Alan trusted me to get involved with the conception of productions and programs. Talented as he is, Alan knows the intricacies of coming up a good show and I owe it to him to have trusted me to handle all the messy work. Spearheading the group, he came up with a project that we implemented last 2004 in Maasin in time for its fiesta celebrations. We called it "Pamistang Gasa Para Sa Pamilya" its a feeding and gift-giving project for some indigent families of Maasin. The first time we did it was a huge success that he insisted to do it again if possible on a yearly basis. Indeed we did the feeding and gift-giving project again last August 2008. I just hope that with Alan gone, our new president would think of continuing this charitable project in the years to come.
I can go on and on, talking and reminiscing the days when Alan was with us partying, dancing and karaoke singing almost every weekend, not to mention the drinking sessions. I would bet that Alan would never allow us to shed a tear on his passing but celebrate his life, our lives together instead. I dont want to remember Alan during his last few days with us, I want to remember him when he was still full of life.
Farewell Alan, you will be greatly missed.
In his happy and healthier days, Alan was quite a personality. A very proud and aggressive person he has the knack of getting his way on whatever he wants specially for his family and friends. He has such a magnetic persona that those who are close to him is at the same time loyal to him. A talented person, he loves to sing and dance. A grandfather, a father, a brother, a husband and a lover, that's what Alan was to his family and friends.
Yes, just like you and me, Alan is far from perfect. He also has his flaws and shortcomings but when a person leaves us permanently to face his Creator, isn't it proper to think of all things good about that person to remember him by? Indeed Alan have touched the lives of all the people he met and befriended as proven by the filled up chapel during his funeral services.
Likewise, Alan have touched my life in a certain way. Back in our hometown of Maasin in the Philippines, I only knew Alan because of his influential family. We were never close at that time. He knew my family since our families were also connected by bloodline but that was it. He left the Philippines long time ago that I cannot remember anymore, but I met him again when I joined my parents here in Las Vegas last November of 2000. There were already several friends from Maasin that were living here in Las Vegas. I never experienced homesickness when I moved here because of these friends. As a natural leader, he founded the Kaba-Maasin, an association of men and women from Maasin who are now living here in Las Vegas, with him as the president. With Alan's encouragement, I was able to construct a website exclusively for Kaba-Maasin and I called it simply as "Kaba-Maasin Online". The association's original purpose was to celebrate the Maasin fiesta every year here in Las Vegas during the month of August complete with novena prayers to the town's Patron Saint, Our Lady of the Assumption. During these activities, Alan trusted me to get involved with the conception of productions and programs. Talented as he is, Alan knows the intricacies of coming up a good show and I owe it to him to have trusted me to handle all the messy work. Spearheading the group, he came up with a project that we implemented last 2004 in Maasin in time for its fiesta celebrations. We called it "Pamistang Gasa Para Sa Pamilya" its a feeding and gift-giving project for some indigent families of Maasin. The first time we did it was a huge success that he insisted to do it again if possible on a yearly basis. Indeed we did the feeding and gift-giving project again last August 2008. I just hope that with Alan gone, our new president would think of continuing this charitable project in the years to come.
I can go on and on, talking and reminiscing the days when Alan was with us partying, dancing and karaoke singing almost every weekend, not to mention the drinking sessions. I would bet that Alan would never allow us to shed a tear on his passing but celebrate his life, our lives together instead. I dont want to remember Alan during his last few days with us, I want to remember him when he was still full of life.
Farewell Alan, you will be greatly missed.
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