Joseph O. Romano

Dr. Joseph Faustino Orzame Romano

February 16, 1922, Faustino Orzame Romano was born to Feliza Orzame Romano and Jose Romano in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, one of the provinces in central Luzon with rice granaries in the Philippines. He was the 5th of 10 siblings – Bonifacio, Guadalulpe, Eduviges, Olympia, Amado, Conchita, Paulino, Priscilla and Amparo- 2nd boy of 4 boys with 6 sisters, now all deceased. So he was the last one to enter into rest. He grew up and completed his primary and secondary education in Guimba. His family left Guimba during the Japanese occupation in 1941 and lived in the barrio of Maturanok. They were blessed with hectars of fertile land producing rice, mangoes and other orchard of fruit trees, sugar cane plantation, production of molasses making sinakub and tagapulot.

During World war 2, the family went back and forth to their big house in Guimba and barrio Maturanok. Fondly called Tino, was sent to the Philippine Union College in Baesa, Caloocan city by his mother so he won’t be recruited by the guerillas. The Japanese occupation went on for 3 years. At that time, the PUC faculty and students were placed in a concentration camp in Santa Quiteria in Caloocan city by the Japanese to find out who were the underground forces supporters, guerillas at that time. They were deprived of water and food for 3 days. They used the sweat from their shirts for hydration. They all finally went back to PUC but he was unable to finish his education there because the school shut down temporarily. After the liberation, he completed his college education in a dental school in metro manila obtaining his doctorate in dentistry. During that time, he met Esther Jimenez, married her and had children- twin boys and a girl. He practiced dentistry in the Philippines until he immigrated to the USA in 1962, pursued advanced education in counseling in Missouri. Moved to California in 1963, met Felicitas Umagat. He completed medical technology and practiced it until he retired. He lived in Ontario, Canada from 1965 to 1975. In 1975, he married Felicitas Umagat in Sterling heights, Michigan. When they took an oath for US citizenship, they changed their names to Joseph Faustino Orzame Romano and Wilma Felicitas Umagat Romano.

In 1987, he retired but waited for his wife to retire in 1992. They moved to Corona, California in 1992, lived there for 11 years before they moved to Loma linda, California in 2003.

He had quadruple bypass in 2001. But despite of his health condition, he was very active in the church, made 5 mission trips to the Philippines and always present in almost all the functions of the Moreno Hills SDA church for the last 24 years. He was one of the pioneers. Had the opportunity to travel with the church special tours to Europe during the General SDA Conference in Holland. Traveled also to the Bible lands, following the journey of the Apostle Paul in Jerusalem, Israel, Turkey and Greece in 2009. His health had declined when he needed to be hemodialyzed 3x a week after being diagnosed with End Staged Renal disease in May 2010. In spite of his health, he was faithful in keeping the Sabbath, gone to church every Saturday, midweek prayer meetings and most social events of the church like the annual camp retreat.

In all his joyful years, he was able to send 7 young people to college. He lived a good and productive life, always faithful to the Lord and had been a nurturing and loving husband, father to 3 children – Juanito, Joselito and Elvira, grandfather to 9 grandchildren- Jhoanna, Dionne, Jimmy, Josephine Cheryl, Marie Joy, Sheela Marie, Joselito Jr., Kristine and Jesus, great grandfather to 8 great grandchildren – Deanna, Johnny, Denise Reese, Aydin, Audrey, Lily, Nikolas and Amaya, and a jovial friend to all.