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Obituary for Romeo Reyes Barcenas

Romeo Reyes Barcenas died on February 28, 2019 at the Redwood City Kaiser Permanente Medical Center after suffering a major stroke a few days before.

 

He leaves behind his son Robert ‘Bobby’ Barcenas and his wife Thuy Quach-Barcenas; his daughter Maria Caridad ‘Charity’ Barcenas-Barrosa and her husband Rito ‘Jun’ Barrosa; his youngest daughter Marie Penn Dorothy ‘Sunshine’ Barcenas-Diaz and her husband Joe Diaz; his grandchildren DanDan, Gerard, Kevin, Troy, Chloe and Cici; his 3 great grandchildren Charisse, Chevelle and Brent; his brothers Billy, Esar and Baby; his sister Ode; his many cousins and close friends.

 

Born in April 2, 1937 to Servillano and Caridad Barcenas in the town of Victoria Laguna, he was a long-time resident of the Philippines until he decided to immigrate to the United States in the 1980s.

 

In his early years, Romeo was raised in the province of Laguna and attended high school in Santa Cruz.  He graduated in 1956 from Manuel L Quezon University with a bachelor’s degree in Geodetic Engineering.  He met his wife Adoracion ‘Dory’ Alarkon in Naga City while on assignment at the Bureau of Lands regional office and they were soon married in April 27, 1963.  He settled in Naga, started a family and learned the Bicol language and culture.

 

As a licensed Geodetic Engineer, Romeo accepted a contract to work for the government of Papua New Guinea in 1974 and moved his family there for several years.  Then he signed up to work for the Nigerian government as the Assistant Surveyor General in the State of Maiduguri in 1981 with his family in tow.  After a few years, he then decided to move with his family to New York and later settled in San Francisco in 1985.  He opened a printing shop in San Mateo until his retirement in 2002.

 

Romeo was a very private person and loved his family with a passion.  He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  He loved to read books especially autobiographies of famous people and collected newspaper articles about current events.  He also loved to dance and shared stories and laughs with his close circle of friends.  After his wife Dory passed away in 2011, he spent more time bonding with his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and the in-laws often staying over at their homes while he continued to live in the same apartment in Colma that he shared with her.  His love for his wife of 48 years never faded as he was a daily visitor to her resting place.  In his last few years, he was always excited about visiting the Philippines even though he was limited by his dialysis treatments.

 

A celebration of his life and prayer vigil will be held on Friday, March 15, at the Tiffany Chapel of the Cypress Lawn Memorial Home and funeral services will be held at the St Augustine Catholic Church in South San Francisco on Saturday, March 16.  He will be laid to rest next to his wife Dory at the Sage Garden of the Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma.

 

‘It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.’ – by Anne Sexton, American poet