Remembering Glecy Tantoco
On the occasion of Rustan’s founder and Philippine retail pioneer Gliceria Tantoco’s 26th death anniversary on June 4, one of her beloved grandchildren shares this poem in fond remembrance of a gentler, safer time
To many, she is GRT
The Wonder Woman who shaped
Philippine fashion retailing,
She was a dreamer, a doer, and a genius whose Brilliance is few and far between,
Tough as nails, street smart to the bone,
With the art of entrepreneurship running deep in her DNA.
She is a legend, no doubt.
But to me, she is Lola Glecy,
The one whom I spent many nights with while
Lolo Benny was away,
The little four-eight-year-old squirt I was back then. The one who would wake me up at four in the morning and tell me stories about her life, her dreams, and her struggles,
She spoke to me like I was an adult and not some clueless child.
I listened because she spoke to me as if I was her friend, She was the first person who asked me for my opinion as if it mattered,
Her stories were real, raw, unfiltered, and filled with all the colors of life,
She made me laugh like no else has,
In her, I found someone who understood me better than I understood myself,
Someone whom I understood without having to speak, There was this energy we shared, I was not aware of it then but,
I am missing badly now, words fall short in describing the connection.
Everyday, before the daily grind of work, I remember her words, “you must give your finest self to people.”
And everyday, I’m reminded of her.
She is Wonder Woman for sure, a legend for sure but to me she is so much more, she is my soul mate,
I am sure.
Happy 26th Anniversary in heaven, Lola Glecy! Thank you for your soulful presence in my life and my family’s life.
Thank you for working tirelessly,
To provide for generations and generations of lives, Thank you for being a hero and inspiration to many, Thank you for your love, so powerful and consuming yet so gentle and freeing but more than anything,
thank you for the laughs—it is the best cure for everything after all.