Juanito “John” Reduque

How do you measure a life?

In terms of love and friendship, John was immeasurably blessed. He was a dutiful son and brother; a devoted husband and father; a doting grandfather; a generous relative; a faithful friend to classmates, schoolmates, fraternity “brods,” and fellow Masons.

John was born August 9, 1936, to Juana Mina and Mamerto Reduque in Bacag, Villasis, in the province of Pangasinan in the Philippines.

In education, John attended public schools, eventually winning admission to the University of the Philippines College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduating in 1962, he passed the veterinary medical board examination and was officially licensed as a doctor of veterinary medicine.

In employment, like many of his indefatigable generation, John began working years before college. He was a shoeshine boy, he hawked newspapers in Villasis’ streets, he farmed his family’s land. As a newly minted veterinarian, he represented a pharmaceutical company in Manila.

Soon after graduation, he gained the opportunity to immigrate to the United States and work for the US Department of Agriculture. He flew to America three months after marrying Emilia V. Lara on July 7, 1968. At the USDA, he started as a Veterinary Medical Officer in Washington state. By the time he retired in 1998, he had switched coasts, and served as the Acting Deputy District Manager for the USDA’s Office of Field Operations in Beltsville, Maryland.

He wanted to travel after retirement, so ever the frugal man, he worked part time at Dulles International Airport, allowing him to visit destinations around the world at a discount. In addition, he was a lifetime volunteer at Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia.

During his life, his accomplishments were many, but the ones he treasured most were his loving marriage of more than fifty years; his three beautiful children; his US citizenship, which he proudly attained in 1974; and the home he was able to build his parents and extended family in the Philippines.

Professionally, he served as president of various organizations, including the Philippine Veterinary Medical Association, Inc., USA. He is Past Worshipful Master of the Salinas Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons.

Spiritually, he is resting with his Maker, joining his parents and two older brothers in the afterlife on May 22, 2019. He is survived by his wife, Lara; his children, Delica, Leila, and Raymond; his grandchildren, Knox, Logan, Desmond, and Siona; his siblings, Estefania, Jacinto, and Magdalena; his sons-in-law, Darren Lolk and Christopher Michels; his daughter-in-law, Amy Lincoln; and his too-numerous-to-name cousins and nephews and nieces in the Philippines, the United States, and Canada. He is loved and will be missed by them all.

In lieu of flowers or gifts the family wishes that donations be made to the charity of the friend's choice in John's memory.