Retire and die (4)

“Luz and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary at the Holy Mass concelebrated by His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin and Rev. Fr. James B. Reuter S.J.

My dearest daughter Carrie arrived from Japan on 17 February to join in the 28th birthday celebration of her son. Carrie is my only child by my first wife, Maria Luz Sagayadan y Siguenza. I called my wife Luz for short, meaning light.

She finished high school at Assumption Manila, and college, home economics, at the University of the Philippines Diliman. She was the sister of lawyer Teodoro Sagayadan, a colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s Office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and a Bataan war veteran.

The late William “Bill” Sagayadan, a pianist of international fame, at the University of the Philippines was also her brother. Luz has a surviving sister, now aged, Carmen “Chita” Sagayadan Tapay. She was married to Maximo Tapay, a certified public accountant and a finance expert, by whom she had two children, Boy and Vivienne.

A painting of Luz done by Dominador Castañeda of UP Fine Arts is kept as a precious memento by her daughter.

Luz and I first met on 10 April 1959 at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, also known as the landmark Roman Catholic chapel on the University of the Philippines campus. She was there for her medical checkup at the UP infirmary.

I was introduced to Luz by Mr. Aranda, a friend from Roxas City.

Since then, we met regularly at the Ateneo graduate school on Padre Faura, after my drama workshop class under Father James B. Reuter S.J.

For almost 19 months we met almost every other day, until 14 February 1961 when I proposed marriage, seeking at the same time the counsel of Father Reuter on formally informing Luz and her father about the status of my family. I told Father Reuter and Luz that my parents were not as rich as hers.

My father, Jose Besana, was a member of the Roxas City police force and my mother, Soledad Villariña Besana, was a 1921 graduate of Capiz High School, under the English program crafted by one of the famous Thomasite teachers who were sent to the Philippines by America in 1901 to transform the Filipinos into an English-speaking people.

I first met Father Reuter on the day of my graduation as high school valedictorian of Class 1954 of the Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion, Roxas City. He congratulated me after I delivered my valedictory address, together with Very Rev. Fr. Sinforiano Fuerte, rector of the Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion.

Luz and I were married at a wedding solemnized by Father Reuter at St. Ignatius Church, Camp Murphy (now Camp General Aguinaldo), Quezon City, on 22 April 1961. The principal sponsors were Ismael Mathay Sr. and Dr. Josefina R. Ayuyao, sister of former Senator Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo.

Previously, on 22 February

1961, Luz and I were married by

Judge Mariano

R. Virtucio, Municipal

Judge, Quezon

City, under Marriage License No.

641362 issued on 22 February 1961.

Luz and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary at the Holy Mass con-celebrated by His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin and Rev. Fr. James B. Reuter S.J., with Rev. Fr. Socrates “Soc” Villegas, on 22 April 1991 at the Archbishop’s Palace in Mandaluyong City, with Senator Teofisto Guingona Sr. and Comelec Chairman Ramon Felipe as principal sponsors.

It was a simple and solemn celebration that Carrie and I will cherish and long remember, that was attended by close officemates of Luz from the Central Bank of the Philippines and my close officemates from the Commission on Audit.

Three years after our silver wedding anniversary celebration, we got some sad news that chilled me to the bone. My beautiful Luz was diagnosed with cancer of the blood, technically called Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria, that required the right kind and amount of blood for transfusion.

(To be continued)

“For almost 19 months we met almost every other day, until 14 February 1961 when I proposed marriage.