He was born in Ibaba, Calapan, Oriental Mindoro on March 9, 1929 to Paulo Acedillo Acedera, Sr. and Concepcion Del Rosario Nicasio. He is the last of his family to pass away. He served in the Philippine Air Force as Maintenance Quality Control Chief Inspector and served as the PAF’s liaison with various USAF and USN air wings and squadrons at Clark Air Force Base, U.S. Naval Base Subic, and U.S. Naval Station Cubi Point. The highlight of his air force career was ferrying two aircraft for the PAF from Amsterdam, Holland, with stop-overs in Belgium, Egypt, Greece, India, and Singapore. He was honorably retired in 1982 after 33 years of service, with the rank of Second Lieutenant. A licensed private pilot whose passion was flying, his hobbies included assembling scale model aircraft, singing, and playing the ukulele and harmonica- interests that he passed on to his three sons.
Papa, as he is known to family, is survived by his loving and devoted wife of over 63 years, the love and light of his life, Sylvia Guzman Ganda of Cervantes, Ilocos Sur. Sylvia, our Mama, took loving and selfless care of him, the love and light of her life, round-the-clock since his health started to decline in 2003. She rarely left his side, until the end. He is also survived by his three sons Paul (Patricia), Jonathan (Margarita), and Paulo III (Judith). He was blessed with grandchildren Lisa Acedera Odenwelder (Kyle), Paolo Umali Acedera (Sarah), Jordan Umali Acedera (Nina), and Pauline Angelica Yarra Acedera. He was also blessed with five great grandchildren Alexander Acedera Odenwelder and Charlotte Mary Odenwelder; Mila Acedera and Joseph James Acedera; and Maggie Acedera.
All his life, Papa sacrificed immeasurable personal and material comfort to provide for his family’s needs. He always cared and worried about the needs of others before his own. He was God-loving, completely devoted to his family, totally selfless, generous to a fault, and helpful to everyone. He was a dedicated professional with unmatched integrity- a role model and an exemplary service member. Papa was very proud of his family and loved us all dearly and fiercely, and up to the end, only thought of us and how we were doing. His greatest and only love, Mama, was the center of his universe. He loved her with all that he had and all that he was, in a way that inspires and awes anyone who knows their 63-year love-story-for-the-ages. Theirs is a love pure, unfailing, and true. Mama loved and loves him equally well and fully devoted and sacrificed herself to meet his health care needs to the end. We all miss Papa very dearly- his songs, his stories, his laughter, his spirit, and his love. Heaven has a new angel and we have our living saint, Mama, here on earth.
The family wishes to thank the entire U.F. Health Jacksonville, especially the Urology and Emergency Departments, and Dr. Mar Jaminal and all the health care staff at the Elizabeth G. Means Clinic. All have shown compassion and kindness to Papa as he sought care. The family wishes to thank the staff of the Community Hospice for their care and compassion that made Papa’s last few hours bearable. The family also wishes to thank the JSO Corrections family, friends and strangers who offered words of comfort and prayers for Papa.
