Roberto Manuel Castro

Roberto “Bert” Manuel Castro was born on May 11, 1928, in the small town of Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines. He was the seventh child of Mena and Tomas Castro. He had four brothers, Revocato, Pedro, Aladino, and Agripino; and five sisters, Buenaventura, Jovena, Esperanza, Aurora, and Alejandra. Bert grew up in Lingayen and joined the Philippine Air Force in 1947. He went on to attend the University of Santo Thomas where he graduated from the ROTC program and then became a Reservist in the Philippine Armed Forces.

Looking for a better life, Bert enlisted in the US Navy in 1955. He married Juanita in 1957 at the Malate Catholic Church in Manila and moved his family to the US in 1963. He served his country in the Vietnam War and retired as Petty Officer 1st Class from the US Navy after 20 years. Bert continued to work as a federal employee for the next 18 years at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado. He finally retired at the age of 64 and then began traveling around the world with his beloved wife. Bert was a resident of San Diego for over 42 years and was an active member of the Pangasinan and Lingayen Associations of San Diego. He was also a member of the Fleet Reserve of San Diego for over 40 years.

Bert was always kind and loved to make people laugh. He was generous and always helped his family even those back home in the Philippines. Bert loved to garden and was a great cook. He loved watching sports especially tennis, boxing, the Chargers and the Padres. He loved listening to music and dancing. He was competitive and enjoyed playing games including mahjong, ping pong, pool and scrabble, especially with his grandchildren. Bert was extremely difficult to beat and if you won, you felt lucky. Bert also enjoyed the challenge of weekly crossword puzzles. He instilled many great values in his children and grandchildren including hard work and the meaning of family. Bert felt his greatest accomplishment was raising his three children and sending them to college. He enjoyed most time with his family and seeing his grandchildren grow.

On Saturday, October, 25, 2014, Bert passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Juanita Rayos Castro, and their three children and seven grandchildren, daughter Nancy and her husband, Ed Nieto, and their sons, Emilio and Tomas; son Alex and his children, Amanda, Andrew and Annalise; and daughter Lisa and her husband, Raul Albanez, and their daughters, Julia and Andrea. He is also survived by his sister, Esperanza Soriano, and his brother, Agripino Castro.

A special thank you to all our family and friends for their love and support during this time. Visitation service will be Friday, November 7th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Glen Abbey Mortuary Chapel in Bonita. The funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in National City on Saturday, November 8th at 10 a.m., with interment immediately following at Glen Abbey Memorial Park. A Celebration of Life reception will be at noon, at the Chula Vista Golf Club.