“It’s the simple things that make life worth living.” This quote perfectly encapsulates my Dadlo. He was, a simple man. Dadlo was never a person that liked an extravagant or flashy lifestyle. He always kept it simple. Like how he never liked going to fancy restaurants on his birthday, instead we would usually go to the local Applebee’s. And at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter where you. As long as you make memories and have your loved ones next to you that’s all you really need in life. Love you Dadlo.

Dadlo,

Words will never encapsulate how much I have missed you these past few months, and how much I will miss you for the rest of my life. I am truly so blessed to have had you around for almost twenty years, and I would give anything and everything to have even one extra second with you. But that would be extremely selfish of me and would go against everything you taught me.

Dadlo never told me no. When I was younger, I remember that if I ever caught him by the stairs before dinner time, I would make him give me a piggyback ride all the way down to the kitchen table. Sometimes, he'd tell me that his back was sore, or I was too big for piggyback rides, but he'd eventually oblige and carry me down the seemingly long set of stairs. 

This is one common misconception with Dadlo -- that he would succumb to pressure, that he was too kind and easy to take advantage of. But that was not the case. He would be nice to you if you were nice to him, but if you wronged him -- wow. I remember having a fallout with one of my friends, and even though Dadlo liked her at first, he soon had no care for her, and sided with me, listening to all my complaints and even telling me the criticism he secretly had about my former friend.

But nonetheless, Dadlo was gentle and easygoing. As Kuya Ken put it, you could count the times he was mad with one hand. And I definitely could get him mad. A lot. But he'd never shout or yell at me -- his silence was enough to get me bawling into his arms and apologizing profusely for whatever I did wrong. When I was six, after dropping me off at my elementary school, he came across a few kids who made a few mean remarks to him. I couldn't understand and still can't: how could anyone be mean to MY Dadlo? I was so mad on his behalf, telling him that I would protect him and beat those kids up for him (bad idea, I was, again, six), but he told me I shouldn't worry. Karma would get to them sooner or later.

He was patient. He knew that things would turn out well eventually. During college acceptance season, when the rejection letters seemed constant and neverending, I found myself lying facedown on his bed, sure that I would never get into a good school. I wasn't sure if he was listening to my anxieties, but he would look up from his laptop, take out his earbuds, and then tell me to keep trying and never stop chasing my dreams because I'd end up where I need to be. He was right. He was always right.

I wouldn't be the person I am without him. I wouldn't be here, writing this at my dream school without him. I wish he could see me graduate from college. I wish could see me in all the shows I'm in -- he never missed one, even if he had to catch a recording of it. My last show before he passed away  -- only 3 weeks before -- was "The Lightning Thief: the Percy Jackson Musical", and even though he wasn't physically in attendance, I sent him the recording, and he watched all two hours of my performance on his laptop. He called it "my best performance so far" I wish, wish, wish he could see them all. But I know that he's front and center in his seat in Heaven, always watching over me.

I am and will forever be eternally grateful for the time I had with Dadlo. I never knew how to repay him for his kindness toward me, but I know he wouldn't want me to only be kind to him, but he'd want me to share the love, kindness, and generosity he had for others, and pay it forward. And I vow to do that for the rest of my life.

I love, love, love you Dadlo. I always have, and I always will. Thank you for everything.

Paying tribute to an amazing Dad

Good morning. I am Harold, Harold II. And today, like so many before, I could not be more proud of carrying my Dad’s name. I loved and respected him deeply. The outpouring of love and admiration for him these past two weeks has been inspiring and heart-warming.

On behalf of my mom, Cora, my brother Ronald, our spouses, who were just as much as Dad’s children and who he loved dearly, and his four grandchildren, we thank you and welcome you to our celebration of family, friendship, and faith.

It is such an odd feeling to be giving this memorial. I know how private my Dad was and was opposed to being the focus of any attention. He would have hated all this, telling us to get on with life and not wallow or feel sad about losing him.

No one was like my Dad. He was my biggest inspiration and a true hero to me. Our family leaned on him during tough times, and he was a rock that never let us down.

That strength he possessed was not ostentatious nor confrontational. In many ways, he was a quiet, unassuming man who just endured everything. But it was beneath the surface that his principles and determination rested. That was most evident in how he put us, his family, first and ensured we were protected no matter what.

But above all this, my Dad was a selfless man. Despite being raised in a time of scarcity,  he understood the value of every penny and the importance of saving; the generosity he expressed with the little he had matched his generosity of spirit.

And finally, my Dad had reserved dignity, respecting himself the way he respected others. As he faced his final days, his body devitalized by the long-term effects and complications of diabetes and heart disease, he occasionally lost his humor. But he never had one moment of self-pity. The morning before my Dad passed, when the ICU nurse asked him how he was doing, he gave the same answer every day. I’m okay.

I cherish my memories with my Dad and know he is smiling down on us. Thank you again for coming out today to celebrate the memory of my inspiring Dad.

You were always been a good father in law to me in fact you treated me like your own daughter. You never fussed about things and always says you’re ok when being asked. A quiet guy but full of wisdom. You’ve always been a good role model to Rhon Gomez Sebastian  and Kuya Harold G. Sebastian II. A good husband to Mommyla. You always showed how you loved your grandkids Ron Sebastian, Harold Jeremiah , Hammie and Hailey. You were always proud with their achievements and you will be their forever Dadlo. No more pain Dad. And you now have eternal life with the Father in heaven together with Mama Daisy and Papa Nonoy. We’ll missed you dearly and as we always say when we end our conversation on messenger, we love you.❤️

Ken & Christine’s Eulogy to dadlo

Dadlo's Eulogy

Ken
Dadlo, as he is affectionately called by his grandchildren. This nickname was probably started by me, as a young kid, I called everyone by 2 syllable names for some reason. My earliest memories of Dadlo were when we used to visit their house and I would accidentally "leave" my toy. When we get home dad would ask where the toy was and pretend Mommyla and Dadlo would magically pass it through the phone.

He'd always been so patient. The number of times I've ever seen him angry, I could probably count in one hand. I will always appreciate the times they cared for us when mum and dad first moved to England. Mommyla and Dadlo sacrificed a lot of their time to make sure my brother and I were well looked after, they also made sure that they helped me with any school projects I had to do. If I can be half the grandfather that Dado was, I would be twice the man I thought I could ever be.

I remember the last time I saw them was just after Christmas in 2019, when Christine and I left for Tokyo. We had originally planned to travel to the US in 2020 but unfortunately, circumstances didn't allow us too. I only wish I could've said goodbye and be there before he passed. It's been very difficult to not have the ability to be there. I can only hope to make him proud and continue his legacy.
Rest in paradise Dadlo, thank you for all the sacrifices that you made to look after our family.

Christine 
The first time I met Dadlo, I remember being so shocked and thinking it was so funny that Dadlo, Ron & Ken were all the splitting images of each other except in different decades, almost like seeing a real-life aging portrait. I thought to myself if that's what Ken is going to grow up looking like,
I'll have the cutest old man husband!'

Dadlo is the cutest of all old men. He was also so calm and relaxed and present in every moment. You could always see the love he had for all the family. After we got engaged, I remember we talked about how exciting and great it would be to visit so we could see Dadlo & Mommyla's reactions in person. How great it would be to be able to get married and have them there on the day. I can only hope that we get to experience the same love that Dadlo & Mommyla shared, to get to be together as long as they have and to create a family full of so much love and laughter. I hope Dadlo continues to watch over us all and I hope we'll make him proud.

Momcie’s (Harold Jeremiah) Eulogy to dadlo 

Hi everyone, some of you might know me as Momcie but my real name I’ve been going by for a long time now is Harold. Harold Sebastian and I, well and truly hope to live up to that name one day.

I’ve lived overseas most of my life, as a result I didn’t get to see dadlo that often, but what I’ll never forget was what he would always have nearby, playing cards, his laptop and mammyla.

With the playing cards, I remember seeing them when he last came to Australia, but the first time I ever played cards in my life was with him the first time went back to the Philippines. My memory is fairly hazy, I just remember it was when we went back to the Philippines in 2005, we were sitting outside the house, a table and playing cards. Ill admit I didn’t know how to play and was probably just looking at the cards, but nonetheless he did love to have his cards around.

Secondly, his laptop. Naturally, this is a more recent memory, but he loved using his laptop. Being on Facebook, listening to things with his red earphones. He would do that and if I think about that we both had that in common too with using technology regularly.

But of course the most important of the three that dadlo was always accompanied with was mammyla. The two of the have been together as long as I can remember and if I am to do anything with his name, if I am to honour him in any way, it would be to by being as loving and caring as he has been. He wasn’t always a speaker as far as I remember, but that didn’t matter. Because his company, his presence said it all because that’s where he would always be, with his loving family. I want to be the same, to live life with love in the way he did. And even though we can’t see him here, I know that his love still continues and I will carry his name and his love with me into the future.

To Dad, my final farewell 

My dad or dadlo how he is fondly called, started when my first son was born, being the eldest grandson as he started to talk in syllables. 

Dad has so many admirable traits which I hope to continue emulating in my lifetime, but since we are limited with time I’ll just focus on 3.

3 admirable traits of my dad I remember:

A. Being a great family man

He looked after his family, overcame loneliness away from his family as an Overseas worker just to provide us a better life.

It was hard for us without a father figure during our younger years growing up, but I know it was for the better and even harder for him being alone without his family near him.

I remember my first few months migrating in the UK it was a hard struggle being away from my wife and 2 children and this was only for a few months. So imagine doing this every year and only a month to spare with the family, he has endured and persevered the loneliness of being away from his loved ones to support our every financial needs.

B. Generosity

My dad has a kind heart for others not only to his family. Sometimes his kindness is being taken advantaged by others but still this didn’t deter him from continuing with his generous nature. He never held a grudge to those who wronged him. His often phrase was “pabayaan mo na ‘yan”. And this humble humility has granted him further blessings financially, physically and emotionally. 

C. Kind natured 

You never see him angry, always smiling even in tough times. He is so independent and doesn’t want anyone looking after him. I remember my last video chat with him while he was admitted in the hospital, his last words to me were “no worry”. Even in his last message, his message ended with same last two words “no worry”. Despite the time discrepancy between Australia and the US, it was through messenger do I regularly keep tabs on him whether he is awake and already online and send him messages. It can now be kept in my record books that the last message I receive with dad was on the 27 July 2022 and I am really saddened that I will never have another opportunity to have a chat with him. 

As our Lord Jesus has promised in John 14:2 
I know dad is now in a better place with his siblings with our Lord Jesus who has prepared a room for them in our Father God’s house, a house with many rooms, and someday we will meet again. Farewell dad. 

“There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”
‭‭John‬ ‭14:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.14.2.NLT

Harold my sincerest sympathies for you and your family.    Geraldine

Dear Papa Harold, you are a big loss to all of us.  We will surely miss you, your antics, your unique style, your words, your knowledge and wisdom, your braveness and boldness to explore what's out there, and your positive outlook in life.    But more than these, we will miss you as a loving uncle, and as a dad - your care, love and devotion for everyone in the family, from Mama Cora, to Jungie and May, and Rhonnie and Zhel, down to all the cousins, nieces and apos, and our wider family.  We love you.   Bong, Ning, Israel Escaño

Precious memories of your visit to Queensland, Australia.

Our dear Nong Harold,   You will always be loved and cherished. Thank you for the love and care you have shown us all these years. We will always remember your kind and gentle spirit, your love for family, and your simple ways in showing that you remember and care.   Rest now in God's embrace.  Love always, Nene and Pinky Escaño

Dadlo, you have been such a blessing to many people’s lives. You wisdom and kindness meant so much. Ethan & we will miss you, but know you have gained your wings. Fly high and strong, until we meet again. - The Cuason Family

Rest in Peace Manong Harold. You will always be remembered.🙏  Our last photo when we visited you in Pampanga.❤️

Rest in peace Manong Harold. It was so nice to see you at Kenneth & Kristina's wedding. This was our last time to see you and Manang Daisy. Thank you for the fun memories.

My last memory of you. Thank you for coming to my son’s wedding. April 16, 2017. Rest In Peace Manong Harold! We love you. From Feli, Elsa, Kenneth, Kristina and Nathan Gaudinez

OBITUARIO

Harold Escaño Sebastian

8 octubre, 1937 – 8 agosto, 2022

DeVol Funeral Home

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