Loving husband, father, and grandfather.
Entrepreneur. Visionary. Generous. Kind.
Lived by example rather than words.
Always in our thoughts, in our hearts, and will always be loved.
May he rest in peace.
Eulogy for Roman Velez
Romda Ann
My best memory of my dad is when I was a little girl, he would sing to me at bedtime. He sang Chinese songs and English songs. What they all had in common was that they were all happy songs. And, they were all about love and being loving. Drifting off to sleep to the sound of his singing, I felt safe and secure in his love. I do this with my own children and sing to them at bedtime. May they do it for their children too.
My dad loved us children, and he was full of love like a child. He loved to talk to people everywhere he went. He loved to learn new things and new skills, especially in sports. He loved to teach and encourage others. He loved life, and he would tell me never to quit, and to keep on keeping on in my life. I learned these things from you dad, to keep singing, keep learning, keep living and keep loving. I love you dad, rest in peace.
Robertson
Thank you all for coming here to celebrate my father’s life. Growing up, our father spent a lot of time in the Philippines, but he visited often and we knew growing up that we were always in his thoughts, in his heart, and we were loved.
I have gotten emails from many of you remembering him, and what everyone has said is that he was remembered for being very athletic, good-looking, generous and kind. I know this to be true, being one of this children. My brother is the athletic one, my sister is generous and kind, so I must be the good-looking one.
My father was a visionary. I grew up in a third world country, yet growing up I remember my Dad always getting us the coolest gadgets to play with at the time. He had the coolest watches. At a time when the world was on film, we had a Polaroid camera. Before video games were invented We had Pong! When we came to Canada, my father bought us an Apple II clone computer and he and my brother took a course to learn programming. I don’t think my father or brother ended up learning one end of the computer from the other, but my father’s sense of curiosity for new things ignited my passion for technology and launched my career in engineering.
My father always encouraged us to dream big. One of my earliest memories is playing in the gravel pit in our backyard in Davao when I was about five. I found these rocks that had a very sparkly shine to them. I was so excited. I ran back into the house and called my Dad at the store. I still remember the number - 76721. I told him, “Dad, you don’t have to work anymore, I found diamonds in our backyard!” I don’t remember what he said exactly, but I remember he was very encouraging and said something like, “good job, son.” I was so happy for about a week, until the rocks turned out not to be diamonds but common firestones, but I’ll always remember how encouraging my Dad was for me to dream big, and I’m still searching for those diamonds.
My father loved his children and sacrificed for us. It was a difficult decision for the family to come to Canada. He knew it wasn’t for him. He didn’t fit in, he didn’t belong, and he spent most of his time in between. But he recognized that his children would have a better life in a foreign place, so he gave up having his family with him, so that his children could have a better future.
My father had a lot of challenges in his life, but in all the important things that really mattered he did all the right things. What better measure of a man’s success than the legacy he leaves in his children. Dad, I want you to know that in our eyes, you did good. You are always in our thoughts and in our hearts, and you will always be loved.
Romson
My Dad was his own man and almost always did things his own way. He always wanted to be the boss and never liked to conform or settle. How do I know? Because, like Mom always says, “I am so much like my dad!” Not just in looks but in deeds as well.
Dad enjoyed being an Entrepreneur and risk taker. I always remember the 2 questions he often asked me even when I was as young as 7: "If you had a choice of being a business owner or an employee, which would you choose?"
Then he would follow it up with another question. "If you had a choice of getting $100,000 today or a penny doubled for 30 days, which would you choose?”
Then he would go on to explain the difference between the two and that choosing the 100,000 was like choosing to be an employee and choosing the 1 penny was like being a business owner.
He asked me to double a penny for 30 days to see how much I would have on Day 30. To my surprise it was way more than 100,000. $5,368,709.12 - All that from a penny?
He would then passionately explain the importance of controlling one's destiny. Finally, he would tell me to always look beyond the horizon and remind me to look at the long term perspective and not just the short term gain.
Dad dared to dream. Not only did he dare to dream, he dreamt big and he pursued his dreams with cheerful and passionate vigor. But, as we all know, not all dreams do come true. Life can be a roller coaster of challenges, and my dad had his fair share. These challenges in his later years caused him a lot of stress. His health failed, and his business failed.
Where he never failed was being a father by example through his deeds and not his words. He set a great example of kindness, generosity and good sportsmanship. He was trusting, good-hearted and good-natured, and he always lived true to himself.
Pa, the way you lived your life, always being true to your best self and doing your best to be kind, generous and good, you continue to be a that I will always remember you by. Your successes inspire me and motivate me. Your failures teach me and humble me. Because of you I understand that I am not perfect, life is not perfect, dreams don’t always come true, but as long as we keep on being true to our best selves, we can leave an inspiring legacy for everyone who follows us.
Pa, I want to salute you, for the way you lived your life. It taught me the importance of being true to myself and living life passionately.
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