Alden Escobido Habacon

(June 13th, 1974 – December 2nd, 2024)

Marilou Habacon gave birth to Alden at Mary Johnstone Hospital in Tondo, Manila, Philippines on Thursday June 13th, 1974. As an infant, he grew up in his father Ricardo’s family home with his beloved grandma, Lola Francisca. Alden’s parents emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada in the spring of 1975, and Alden joined them the following year, where he was surprised to find out he had a new brother, Konrad. His second brother, Raphael, would also come along after, and the trio became the best of friends. The Habacon family stayed in Winnipeg until 1980 when they decided to move to Edmonton, Alberta, where Alden spent his school days at Aldergrove Elementary, and grew up cheering for Wayne Gretzky. The family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan in 1986 where Alden spent his early teen years at Campbell High School and was chosen as class valedictorian after graduating from Junior High School. One of his teenage highlights was driving his dad’s Camaro at 16 years old. In 1991, the family moved to Burnaby B.C. and he realized attending high school in B.C. was sure different from high school in the Prairies: the ethnic diversity would be one of the catalysts that changed his life. He loved Bobby Brown and even did a dance competition at Eaton’s Centre. While still in school, he felt inspired to serve Canada, and joined the Army Reserves one summer at the age of 17, with his friend Trevor. He would later go on to Ryerson University in Toronto to study graphic arts, which was also the beginning of his grunge music stage.

He decided to move back to B.C and attend Simon Fraser University, where he completed his bachelors degree in Visual Fine Arts.

For years after graduating, he was a struggling artist trying to live life and make a name for himself. He worked in the fashion and retail industry for years. Occasionally, Alden would put together art shows and display his works.

This is where his passion for the arts & cultural communities started, as he was cementing his path towards becoming the person we knew most. His life started to take off and this is also when he became more independent, and slowly carved a life away from his family. He was a free spirit and wanted to be out there all the time.

It was during these free years where he was drawn into the lack of Asian representation in media. He worked with an Asian Canadian arts publication, and later founded Schema Magazine in 2004, which focused on celebrating the differences within and between cultures & communities. This platform gave a voice to those who do not feel that the current multicultural models fit their identity.

His spark lit a fire that blazed across Metro Vancouver: the reputation of this amazing young man started to spread among the various arts, cultural and non-profit communities. Alden soon found himself being asked to join various boards and committees across the spectrum of organizations, like SUCCESS, the Laurier Institution and recently, the Vancouver Art Gallery. In addition, he co-founded the Asian Canadian Journalists Association, while working full-time and running a magazine at the same time. The Filipino community also called upon him to help lead various programs.

He spoke at TedX Vancouver back in 2009, which was viewed by thousands, and he was given less than 20 minutes “to change the world”. It was this TedX talk where he introduced his ground-breaking work on schemas, fluidity and cultural navigators to a big audience. We recommend everyone to watch it on Youtube: it captures Alden’s passion, energy, humour, intellect and ultimately…Alden being Alden.

He worked at the CBC from 2004 to 2010, becoming the senior manager of diversity initiatives. The work he did doing those impactful years can be seen in front and behind the camera, as well as on radio and online. He also spent many years working at UBC as the Senior Advisor for Intercultural Understanding. He was recognized in 2010 by the YMCA of Greater Vancouver as the Power of Peace Award winner, and the 2011 NAAAP Vancouver leadership honouree for his work in supporting diversity and community service. In 2012, he was recognized with the Maharlika Award in Leadership by the Filipino Canadian Cultural Heritage Society of BC, and in the same year, was a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal Award recipient.

He lived his life with one driving thought: the idea that we are better together – that representation matters, and that representation gives us a sense of who we are as Canadians. His mission was to empower communities and workplaces to treat people fairly, to value and appreciate each other’s uniqueness while maintaining a sense of belonging, and to foster confidence in everyone to live as fully engaged participants in society.

His volunteer hours, on top of his full-time business & board commitments, would break most people. Alden was always willing to do the work, to stay and speak with that last attendee after his seminars, workshops or panel discussions were completed. Whenever he was late for dinner or for another function, it was likely that he made sure everyone felt heard and seen.

In 2019, he realized a major lifetime dream of starting his own business: he founded Inclusive Excellence Strategy Solutions (IESS), a diversity & inclusion consulting company that worked with governments, institutions, schools, universities, charities and other organizations. He created propriety learning programs that transformed corporate work environments, and he taught leadership how to get the best of their increasingly diverse workforce. If it wasn’t his impactful presentations, then it was his sheer, jovial personality that would inspire and energize his audience. His extensive work included a client list that ranged from small business to national corporations, to local universities, First Nations groups and the highest levels of municipal & provincial governments. Although he was averaging close to thirty presentations a month, he still managed to include significant pro bono work for causes and organizations that he truly believed in. His business was soaring, and he added some fantastic staff members along the way, where they helped to construct his vision of the world. These were some of the most fulfilling, whole-hearted days of his career.

Anyone who knows Alden knew that he was the biggest science fiction fan around. His deep dives into Star Wars & Star Trek universes were of legendary nerd status, and his big personal pleasure would be to find a pocket of time late at night to indulge in an episode (or three) of The Mandalorian, Deep Space Nine, Picard, or Japanese Anime. A holiday tradition would be a Lord of the Rings marathon with the Chung family on Boxing Day.

Alden’s life took a new trajectory when he met a beautiful, young, 21 year-old woman named Rosalynn, in 1998 (before cell phones and social media were a thing). They met at her boss’ house party, and little did she know, that he worked just a block from where she worked downtown (she worked at Death by Chocolate as a server, and he worked at Boys Co on Robson in men’s fashion). It was a love affair for the ages, full of adventures, freedom and simpler times. He proposed to Rose in 2007 in Maui, on top of Haleakala in Hawaii at the dawn of one of its brilliant, dazzling sunrises. It was symbolic of a new beginning for an extraordinary life together. They were married in 2008 and held an amazing reception at the River Rock Resort in Richmond, in front of over 250 family & friends, where they danced and sang and loved all night long.

Alden was very proud to be an active hockey dad, and the ice rink was his second home, so he could watch his sons play games and participate in team practices. No matter how busy he was, he wouldn’t miss a game if it was humanly possible. He was always so proud of how far they had come from just learning to skate, to learning to play with teammates and to hone their skills. He was the loudest guy in the stands, cheering and yelling their names, and were absolutely their number one fan. He always cherished the many road trips with the sons’ team, the Vancouver Thunderbirds (maybe not so much the 5am wake-up calls for practices), where he bonded with the other ice hockey parents. Alden didn’t participate in practices, but he was always the first one to help out off the ice, in every way. Not only was he the biggest cheerleader in the bleachers, but he was also the de facto team DJ, as he would create custom playlists for each game. His connection to the game of ice hockey was deep, and his friendship with the other parents was even deeper.

Despite his business & career success, Alden would say to you though, that his greatest achievement & deepest honour was the family that he built: his three remarkable sons – Aiden, Rei & Rylen – and the love of his life for over twenty-five years, Rose. He saved his biggest grins, heartiest laughs and the largest space in his heart, only for them. They were the driving force for him to work as hard as he did, late into the night, to make a better and more inclusive world for them to grow up in.

Alden had a special relationship with his first-born son, Aiden. He loved it so much when Aiden played his guitar songs, when they went on car rides filled with silly talk, and when they shared the same music playlists. When Aiden played ice hockey, Alden’s heart would burst with sheer pride and excitement until the buzzer sounded. He was so proud of Aiden’s mindset, sportsmanship and work ethic. Alden even transformed the front of the house into a hockey training zone, complete with a target goaltender and lots & lots of pucks all over the lawn.

Alden loved his wit and sense of humour in his second son, Rei. Things that came out of Rei’s mouth showed his curiosity and his deep thinking about things that he experienced. He loved his immense sensitivity and his huge compassion for others: Rei connects so easily with people, and has a genuine interest in them as people. This was something that Alden was so very proud of in Rei. Rei’s passion in not only his music, art work and ice hockey, but also in his gleeful singing at shower time nightly, warmed his father’s heart to no end. Rei (as well as Aiden) religiously shared his father’s sense of awe whenever a new episode of The Mandalorian or a sci-fi show came up on TV, and they pondered the possibilities of the future. Rei has his father had a unique connection like no other.

Alden loved his baby boy Rylen’s rambunctious and fierce personality, probably because it reminded Alden so much of himself. Rylen came along a bit later, so Alden was excited about re-doing parenting, given their body of experience. It was a different experience with Rei & Aiden, and he was very much up to the task. Rylen has a true sense of wonder of the world as well as being a power house of energy, and there is no doubt where all that came from. Rylen loves trains. Alden would painstakingly spend hours putting together elaborate train stations & tracks together, and glued train sets for him, while still buying him new and exciting trains to add to his collection. Rylen loved taking apart and rebuilding his toy cars and trucks, so Alden would find him fun sets to encourage his play. His dad loved seeing his son’s true joy and excitement when he brought home new toys for him. Dad always knew the best gifts to get all of them and whenever he went away on a work trip, he would come home with something so thoughtful for each of them, and something pretty for Rose. It just showed how much everything reminded him of his family and how much he loved and thought about them no matter where he was.

With his family, his happiest place on earth was always the beach and catching the sunset. He made every day was an adventure for the boys when he could block off the time – long bike rides which usually ended up with an ice cream, bubble tea or dessert, but most of all, taking the boys out paddle boarding and staying to catch the sunset while on their boards. It was his special time with his boys. Alden was known to make a last-minute call or was always on a phone meeting but once it ended, he would rush and tie the boards on the car just so he could take the boys out for an hour and to make sure they catch the sunset. He always loved loading up the SUV for big road trips to their favourite spots, and to explore new places to discover. His favourite beaches with his family were Spanish Banks/Locarno, Third Beach and Parksville. It was not uncommon for Alden to take his kids to work as well, and to have them be part of his presentations. It was a big thing for Alden to normalize bringing family and work together, for both fathers & mothers.

Alden absolutely loved taking his three boys for private lunches on their own. Alden would make it a tradition to have his birthday lunch with his boys, often all of them wearing matching outfits as him. After all, what’s a fashionista to do?

He got his kids into his passion for toys, only so that he could re-live their wonderment through their eyes. He built a home museum dedicated to Lego, Transformers, The Avengers, Star Wars, Batman, Superman and Japanese anime. There were light sabres all over the house. Alden always searched and bought the boys hard-to-find action figures, and it was his pure joy to surprise them on their birthdays and at Christmas. They could play with and talk about the action figures for hours with their dad.

With his beloved Rose, he cherished any late night quiet time he could get to catch up & talk about the kids, work, life and just everything. And even when they were exhausted, they would fit in a romantic comedy on TV, or some kind of comedy on Netflix, which usually also meant that Rose wanted a neck or foot massage. Only he could make her feel better and she misses his touch every day. Alden also valued their rare date nights, as so much of his life was public and outwards-focused, and it was a time reserved for their own secret garden, and to sometimes just to re-discover each other. He gave her everything she wanted and needed: love, security and joy. She mentioned every day how protected & safe her life felt with him.

Many tears have been shed, but he would want everyone to see that the sun will rise once again, like that morning at the top of Haleakala where he proposed to Rose. He would want us to feel the warmth of the light & beauty that this world has in store for all of us. Imagine a shared space for all of us. Imagine a better world. Imagine the possibilities. Just imagine. We all miss you, Alden. We love you, and we will see you again.

A Funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 25th at 1:00pm at Forest Lawn Chapel, Burnaby, BC. A live web feed will be available of all of his out-of-town friends and overseas family here: https://funeraweb.tv/en/diffusions/101778

Everyone is welcome to attend the funeral service on Sat Jan 25th at 1:00pm. The family asks for privacy for the evening viewing (scheduled at an earlier date) be meant for family and close friends only.