Alfredo C. Pepito

We called him Papa or Fred and his given name was Alfredo Cortez Pepito. He was

born in the province of Liloan in Cebu, Philippines on September 20, 1944, to his father, Eugenio Pepito and his mother, Faustina Cortez. His sisters were Coring, Anicita, Aurora, Telly, Purification, and Fe and his brothers were Meneleo and Florencio.

As a child, Fred was trained in the old-school of hard-knocks. In 1944, WWII would end soon but still raged when Fred was a baby. He watched in wonder from his cradle as the Japanese kamikaze pilots and the US Air-Force took the eastern front of the war and dog-fought over him and the rest of the Philippines in the sky. That was one of the first of Fred’s many dangerous adventures at home and abroad. He was given these chances to grow in the no easily-won virtues of justice and fortitude. A good example of when he won these was when Fred kicked an elementary school bully who tied a rope from the bike rack to Fred’s bike into a canal after Fred recovered from the spill. It wasn’t just one bully Fred fought to defend himself, but he still won. Praise the Lord for Fred’s determination. Through these challenges, Papa’s character grew.

He had many challenges growing up. “’Nong Fred”, as his younger sister Fe called him, would wear hand-me-downs, as all of his 10 siblings did. He was in the middle, but even then, there were no clothes that reached him without holes; his worn shoes had a mouth that spoke with his toes for a tongue when he walked. His mother Faustina ran a food stand, which Fred and siblings helped shop for, cook for, serve at and clean up with his mother while his father was earning a modest wage as an honorable provincial policeman. Their hard-work in near-poverty made them share their blessings in gratitude; most of their Christmas dinners were the avocados growing free and plentiful in the backyard as a main-dish with rice. Fred would tell his family many years later that, “we were eating a health food before it became popular.” Fred knew what it meant to be poor. He knew the value of food and material necessities and the value of the work that afforded them.

As a student, Fred did not know how to read until he was in third grade and got poor grades in mathematics. A teacher concluded to Fred that he would never become anything, but Fred’s father gave him a ream of printing paper for him to practice his arithmetic and algebra on with a stern word that there is no option in learning, but to study until you learn. That ream of paper was used for practicing his math problems and by the end of the year, though he never caught on to reading novels, Fred proved his

father right, earning straight A’s in all subjects.

That stubbornness to make the impossible possible was a hallmark in Papa’s trade of life. He went on to earn two master’s degrees: a Master’s in Physics at Mindanao State University where he would go on to teach as a Physics professor and another in Engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology which he completed in Thailand while he was on scholarship, and this was only the first of his travels.

Money was tight in the Philippines and while he loved his home-land, he wanted more for his family; he took responsibility for providing for his family’s needs very seriously, so Fred looked abroad for work. After working as Head of the Office of Automation Branch at the U.S. Naval base in Subic Bay, he lived in and sought work in Australia but Fred was given the opportunity of a life-time as a recruit for a team of computer programmers to go to the United States of America and work in New York. Agreeing that this was the best course of action in their circumstances, the couple agreed on the move, Fred eventually working at Lincoln Trust and FedEx as a programmer in Denver and Cynthia and girls following by petition to immigrate soon after. They would settle in a small house neighboring a field in the Founder’s Village subdivision in Castle Rock.

Fred is quick to point out though that he won’t support “extravagant and materialistic lifestyles,” not only because the family could not afford it, but more importantly because it does not reflect the Christian quality of being a “good steward” of their God-given resources. Some people criticized Fred’s frugal habits, but Cynthia believed that he outspent many of his critics when it came to charitable giving. No less than 12 charitable organizations here in the USA and abroad had became recipients of his monthly contributions for more than 15 consecutive years. Those charities take care of the poorest of the poor and two of them supports the pro-life movement. The tax preparer during the preparation of their annual tax returns could not help but exclaim when he saw their documents: “so many charitable contributions for such a modest income!” Fred smiled, looked at Cynthia and said “I’m happy we can do that. Thank you God.”

During the last decade of his life, Fred and family grew very close through their determination with the saving hope of the Lord Jesus Christ and to practice the faith with the help of their pastors and church community. Eventually they all accepted it as He who dwelt as Love within them and their love for each other no matter what they faced.

The family was very happy during the last years of his life, knowing they belonged as children in the family of God and as family to each other and to his faithful custodian, their earthly husband and father, the perfect-for-them Papa Alfredo Pepito.

They will miss him forever.

He is survived by his wife Cynthia Hidalgo Pepito and his children Aisner, Robyn, Jeffrey, Grace, and Mara.

Public visitation for Alfredo will be held Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 3:30 PM at Mountain View Mortuary, 2350 Montebello Square Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80918. A vigil will occur Thursday, January 27, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, 2350 Montebello Square Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80918. A funeral mass will occur Friday, January 28, 2022 at 10:00 AM at Our Lady of the Visitation, 34201 Co Rd 33, Kiowa, Colorado 80117. A committal service will occur Friday, January 28, 2022 at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, 34201 Co Rd 33,, Kiowa, Colorado 80117.

Alfredo will be laid to rest in Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, 34201 Co Rd 33, Kiowa, Colorado 80117.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.mem.com/memorysharing/d23f6303-7921-40f1-96b3-24a867276776?lang=en

for the Pepito family.