A special smile, a special face, A special someone I can’t replace,

I love you and I always will, You filled a space that no one will ever replace

Taken from www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/tribute-to-my-dad

My father, Victor Capistrano Osena, passed away peacefully in the grace of our Lord last September 20, 2013. He was 75.

I don’t know how to start this blog post, but I really want give tribute to him by writing a post here at menardconnect.com. Where do I start? Maybe by writing about his work, his life in our church and our community.

My papa (Papa Vic  as they fondly call him) was very active in our church.  He was an active member of Knights of Columbus (K of C). I remember he was a Grand Knight of K of C before. During the necrological ceremonies, I got reminded that he also became a Faithful Navigator and District Deputy for the K of C. He was also the insurance representative for KCFAPI. He was also a member of Bible Institute, Kapatiran sa Salita ng Diyos, Caballeros ng Kristong Hari (Christ the King) and other catholic religious organizations.

In our local community, he was very active in our barangay (Brgy Burgos in Lopez, Quezon). He was a Barangay Justice and was a member of our Barangay Development Council. I heard stories that he served as a Barangay Kagawad in the sixties.

As a mix of local community and religious organizational involvement, he was also active in the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). I still remember helping him in logistical tasks in some past several elections when I was in my teen years. He was spearheading PPCRV efforts for our town then as its Chairman. His fellow KC members reminded me that he facilitated PPCRV and K of C debates among local candidates in our hometown in Quezon province.

He was a licensed Geodetic Engineer. He headed his own firm: Vicos Surveying Services. He was also, on several occasions, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). He had his OFW stint as an engineer at Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory) via a Raymond Brown and Root Mowlem project in the eighties. He also worked in Morocco for the USIS Voice of America Relay Station via a JA Jones Construction Company project in the nineties.

On his professional affiliations, he was an active member of the Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines (GEP) both in Quezon Provincial Chapter, South Luzon Area Assembly and National Chapters. He was a Regional President of GEP Region IV once and also was  one of the Governors of the National Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines.

I can write more and more but I worry that tears will fall again and again (it already did several times while doing this post), so maybe I’ll save my other thoughts for a future post.

To end this post, let me completely quote  the poem I got from www.familyfriendpoems.com and Emma Cartwright

A special dad is hard to find,
You dad I’m keeping in my mind,
I wished you could have stayed forever,
But I will never forget you oh not ever.

If dreams weren’t dreams and dreams came true,
I wouldn’t be here I’d be with you.
Distance is one thing that keeps us apart,
But dad you will always remain in my heart.

A special smile, a special face, a special someone I can’t replace,
I love you and I always will,
You filled a space that no one will ever replace

Taken from: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/tribute-to-my-dad

Papa, you truly filled a space that no one will ever replace, we love you so much! May you rest in peace!!!