Franklin Dollaga Castillo

He leaves his wife of 42 years, Manuela Antonio Castillo; his son, Frank Lane Castillo, his three daughters; Marifi Dollaga Castillo Moreira, Melba Antonio Castillo Rios, Mary Antonio Castillo; his five grandchildren; his siblings and many close friends and relatives.

Franklin was born and raised in San Vicente, Bani, Pangasinan, Philippines. He is the son of Placido Camba Castillo and Juanita Dollaga Castillo and was the 7th of 10 children.

In his early years in the Philippines he worked on the family farm with his parents, siblings, and relatives. After completing high school, he attended Feati University in Manila and earned an Automotive Mechanic degree. He soon met his wife, Manuela Antonio, and they married in 1972 and had an extravagant wedding ceremony.

Their first daughter, Marifi, was born in 1973 and second daughter, Melba, in 1975. The young family left the Philippines in 1978 and moved to Sunnyvale, California to pursue the American dream. They stayed with other family members for a while until they decided to buy a home of their own. They moved to San Jose and had their son, Frank, in 1981 and their youngest daughter, Mary, in 1982. The family had lived in San Jose ever since.

Franklin had early success working during Silicon Valley’s computer/technology boom in the 80’s and early 90’s. He had worked for technology giant, IBM, for over 10 years until he was laid off. Unfortunately, Franklin was never able to bounce back from the lay off and worked odd jobs and battled with drug and gambling addictions during the years that followed. Soon after, his health began to falter suffering from a heart attack in 2003, brain tumor a few years later, and a stroke recently just prior to his passing.

Franklin had a green thumb; he had a passion for farming and gardening, which was instilled in him from his early years in the Philippines. He grew many fruits, vegetables, and plants in his backyard garden in San Jose. He was very articulate and tentative of his garden to make sure it was carefully taken care of and maintained. At times, he’d grow so much he would share the fruits of his labor with his fellow neighbors and relatives.

He was also a great cook, especially with Filipino dishes. His specialties were pinakbet, adobo, squid/octopus adobo and tinola. He always cooked for his family using the freshest ingredients straight from his organically grown garden.

Franklin was also a huge sports fan, especially bay area teams such as the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, Oakland A’s, Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks. Majority of the time, he would be wearing a hat, shirt, or a jacket representing one of his favorite sports teams. However, the San Francisco 49ers were hands down his most favorite team.

The family will receive friends, family, and relatives on Thursday, January 22nd, 2015 from 10:00 AM until 11:00 PM. The Vigil will be held on that same evening at 5:00 PM. The funeral will be held the next day on Friday, January 23rd, 2015 at 10:00 AM. All services will be held at Lima Family Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary | Cedar Lawn Memorial Park in Fremont, California.