Gregorio Lapitan Escritor

Gregorio L. Escritor - Greg to most people who knew him and Papa to his family - was born on November 17, 1919 in Los Banos, Laguna to Lazaro Escritor and Isabel Lapitan. He passed away on August 25, 2015 at the age of 95. He is survived by his wife, Adoracion, with whom he was married for 62 years; his 6 daughters and sons-in-law: Allison and Tony, Florence and Ramon, Mabel and Florien, Rachel and John, Neomi and Craig, Sarah and Jerry; his 14 grandchildren: Anna (with her spouse Danny), Arvin, AJ, Brent, Justin, Kelsey, Raymond, Jessica, Joseph, Kaitlin, Lexx, Troy, Daniel and Jalene; his 3 great-grandchildren: Caleb, Arabella and Maleah.

Greg grew up in poverty, but was able to work his way up because of his love for school. He was fortunate enough to receive the care and support of his aunt and teacher, Mrs. Carmen Manacop and her husband Mr. Porfirio Manacop, who took him in and educated him until he was able to support himself.

During World War II, Greg served for the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) under the command of General MacArthur. He was called for duty with the rank of First Class Private (PFC) assigned to the Motor Transport Company 101st Division and fought the Japanese. When MacArthur left, he became a prisoner of war and was sent to Camp Kasisang prison camp. There he met General Joseph Vachon, who took him in as his orderly. General Vachon would later play a more significant role that would change Greg’s life. About the time that MacArthur came back, Greg and three other friends escaped prison and headed to the jungle and mountains in the upper Agunan province. They wandered the jungle for 6 months, eating whatever food they could find to survive. Due to limited and poor quality of food, Greg got sick with malaria and suffered gangrene. He still survived until MacArthur retook the Philippines. When the Japanese surrendered, Greg was finally discharged.

After the war, Mr. Manacop advised Greg not to accept a job offer, and instead go back to school at the Philippine Institute of Fishery. During his 2nd year at school, $3 million of US financial aid was offered to the Philippine government to rehabilitate the fishing industry in the Philippines. At the age of 25, Greg passed the exam to qualify and was sent to the United States for training and observation in Alameda, CA; Astoria, OR; New York, NY; and Washington, DC. This was the start of his career as a Fishery Biologist. He worked for the Bureau of Fisheries for several years until he reached the rank of Regional Director. At the same time, he worked as a consultant (Supervising Biologist) for the Asian Development Bank. Greg was considered one of the pioneers of the Macrobrachium rosenbergii (freshwater prawns) research project. After 6 years as Regional Director, he resigned and worked for the Asian Development Bank as a consultant for 3 to 4 months out of the year. His biggest work accomplishment was when he was sent to different international assignments as a consultant. He was sent to Jepara, Indonesia by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). He was the Project Manager of the Brackishwater Aquaculture Development Center for 2 ½ years in Jepara, Indonesia, and then another 2 years in Dacca, Bangladesh.

In 1980, an opportunity came that reminded Greg of a promise made by General Vachon: that as a member of the USAFFE, he would be able to apply for U.S. citizenship when the war was over. Two years later, Greg applied for citizenship and his claim was substantiated, so he was granted U.S. citizenship on March 28, 1983. His application to migrate to the United States was immediately approved. At this point he had enough financial resources to move his family. In September 1983, Greg and his wife Adoracion, with their 2 youngest daughters Neomi and Sarah, emigrated to the U.S. They were soon followed 3 months later by the 3 elder daughters Florence, Mabel and Rachel. His eldest daughter, Allison, emigrated to the U.S. ten years later. While in San Diego, Greg worked part time collecting statistics for the California Department of Fish and Game for 5 years.

Greg was adventurous and loved to travel. From 1970 to 1976, he took his family on vacations in the Philippines to Cavite, Los Banos, Baguio, Mindoro, Tacloban, and Tagaytay. When he became an international consultant from 1978 to 1982, he was able to take his family to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. Later on, he traveled with his extended families to Hawaii, London, Paris, Rome, Mexico, Las Vegas, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park. In 2010, Greg and Adoracion joined their daughters and their grandchildren as they embarked on a one-week cruise to Mexico – including Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas.

Greg was known to be a loving husband, a doting father, and an influential grandfather. He was very independent, active, generous, funny, charming, and enduring. Greg will be remembered as someone very special and a big inspiration to all who knew him. He will be sorely missed by family, close friends, and the fisheries community. The family would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support. The family would also like to express their gratitude to the staff at Kaiser Permanente, and the County of San Diego In Home Supportive Services.