Silverio G. Alas

I am Silverio and Perla's oldest grandchild. Some of you may remember me when I was very small - maybe around 6 years old - attending mass with my Lolo and Lola and singing in the St Augustine choir. Well, time moves fast. I am now 25, have graduated college and working. There are also 6 of us grand children, ages 14 to 25, who God has graciously blessed my Lolo Bebs and Lola Perla. I remember singing a fair amount in the St Augustine choir. I'm not sure I was actually very passionate about singing when I was small, but I must have been decent if my Lolo was putting me up there to perform in church. Either way, he always supported and encouraged me to sing. Something I find most remarkable about my Lolo Bebs is that he was always unconditionally supporting and caring for his family. I know he wanted me, my siblings, and my cousins to succeed in life, no matter what path we took. I could also tell that his measurement of success was more dependent on our well being and happiness toward what we were doing, and not what might be perceived as most lucrative or prestigious. Knowing us, and that we are my Lolo's grandchildren, I know we will succeed. In 2013, my Lolo and Lola took me home to the Philippines. We stayed at my Lolo's home for a few nights in Cabanatuan City. One thing that sticks out in my mind during this stay is that above the entrance of his old home, was a wooden plaque that said, Silverio: Chemical Engineer. This reminded me that he had worked so hard to create a successful life once he moved to the United States and led his career here. He worked hard while he raised his children, who eventually had their own children. I've always known a life of three generations in the United States, but seeing this wooden plaque above my Lolo's home in the Philippines is a tribute to his roots and where he came from. I also had the privilege of staying at the home he and my Lola built in Nueva Ecija. There is a photo that I took of my Lolo at this house. He is standing in the backyard, hands behind his back, posing in front of the camera with the luscious green farmland in the background. You can see some of my Lolo and Lola's trees beginning to grow, in hopes to bear fruit a few years later. You can see the rice paddies, and in the far distance, the mountains. It is in this photo that you can tell the air is clean, the mood is peaceful, and my Lolo is at home. Though he raised his family here in the US, the Philippines was always his home. I will remember my Lolo in the garden pebbles outside his home in Warminster. I'll remember him next time I go back to his homeland, saddened that he is not there physically but comforted by knowing he is watching over me. I'll remember him when I am singing and no one is watching. I will remember him at Thanksgiving, Christmas, graduations, weddings and birthdays. I'll remember him at the most peaceful moments in my life, remembering how much of a full and gracious life he has lived. Heaven gained an angel when he passed. May you Rest in Peace, Lolo Bebs.