Hugo G. Toledo

April 9, 1923 – November 5, 2013

On April 9, 1923, a son was born to Celedonio Toledo and Irene Pato Garcia in the barrio of Sabang, town of Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines. They named him Hugo. He grew up to be a good son, a loving brother and a good friend to his playmates especially Felix Garcia and Maria Medina, both his first cousins in the neighborhood. He did excellent in school but declined to have a higher education after finishing the 7th grade which at that time was equivalent to finishing high school.

He started working at an early age at the shop of his blacksmith uncle Vidal Garcia pounding iron and steel in the process of making calesas (horse driven carriage) which were the only means of transportation. This was during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. He was 21 years old during the time when the community heard that the Japanese were coming to capture some people in search for a traitor against Japan. The people from the community ran to the neighboring city of Kawit. He was with some of his uncles including Serapio Guevarra and a relative named Sylvestre Esguerra. While in hiding, he met Rosa Reyes, 18 years old, a lovely young woman whom he fell with at first sight. He was a very shy young man and evidently didn’t know how to win her. He learned that Rosa’s brothers had been hiding her from the Japanese to avoid being raped or killed. He talked to his uncle Serapio and Sylvestre and solicited their help to get her to marry him. They succeeded and on August 14, 1944, they were married in Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite witnessed by Felicidad Geneveo and Serapio Guevarra. They had the calesa for their wedding vehicle.

On November 18, 1945, a beautiful little girl was born to the young couple. They named her Nenita. She was followed by another girl, Imelda and soon a boy we call Noly. Raquel, Paul, Joey and Arthur followed thereafter.

He studied tailoring and passed the course. He attempted to open a tailoring shop when the family moved to Cavite City but the attempt did not bring any luck. They moved back to Sabang and there he learned the trade of carpentry and proved his talent and skills. Working as a carpenter and watching every step necessary for the job, he learned how to make blue prints for his projects on his own. He drew the drafts, had them proofed, approved and signed by a friend architect in town. He became a self-made contractor. His carpentry work became well known not only in his own locality but also all throughout Manila and neighboring regions. Although the job was there, money was still tight because he cared more for the people who worked for him than the money he was going to bring home to support his own family. He would work from Monday to Friday for his customers and worked for his neighbors on weekends for free.

He also made room for the music running in his veins which he inherited from his mother. He became a member of the Dasmarinas Band playing the trumpet. Then his family formed a string band called Toledo’s Rondalla. The group became famous when they won the championship for seven consecutive weeks in a radio program called Pasikat ng mga Talino hosted by Jimmy Navarro and Eddie Ilarde on CBS in Manila.

His family was blessed with a wonderful chance of living a better life when the second born child, Imelda, decided to go to America. She stayed for 5 years until she got her US citizenship and was able to bring her mother over. After another year, Rosa was able to bring Hugo and their four sons to the United States.

The oldest daughter, Nenita, was married to Luciano Alcantara, who was in the navy. When the navy transferred Nenita and Luciano to San Diego, Hugo and the entire family moved with them until they were able to live on their own. The three older sons joined the service until they all retired while the youngest one continued school until he graduated with a degree in engineering. With Rosa working in an electronics company and Hugo as an Assistant Supervisor of Maintenance at University Town Center Shopping Center, they were able to buy their first home. A few years later, they sold that home and bought their second one. He enjoyed his job for thirteen and a half years and always looked forward each morning to go to work until he retired which broke his heart.

In their earlier years here in the United States, they were able to visit Busch Gardens in Virginia, the Washington Monument and more in Washington DC with a riverboat lunch cruise on the Potomac River, the World Trade Center in New York, their many relatives in New Jersey, the Niagara Falls in Canada, went crabbing and oyster picking in Washington State and cruised to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.

He lived to see his fifteen grandchildren and one who he outlived. He also had the chance to see his ten great grandchildren ranging from fourteen years old to one year old. They all showed their constant presence in his life and showed him how much he was loved in sickness and in health.

On November 5, 2013 at 12:52 AM at the age of ninety after sixty nine years of marriage, he took his last breath while surrounded by his family. He will truly be missed.