Benny Castillo Abellera

Bienvenido Castillo Abellera (née), known as “Tatay” or “Grumpa,” passed peacefully on Saturday, January 18th surrounded by loved ones at his home in Milpitas, a day after the 58th anniversary of his family’s arrival to America, and just three weeks before what would have been his 100th birthday—living a long and happy life that spanned five generations across a century. In his own way, Benny lived, and built, his own American Dream.

Born on February 9th 1925 in Sta. Cecilia, Aringay, La Union in the northern Philippines, Benny came from humble beginnings in the province. As a young man, Benny was known for his handsome good looks and charm, but it was his hard work that brought him to metropolitan Manila where he worked as a chemical laboratory mixer at the prestigious University of Santo Tomas. At 23, Benny met and married his wife Mary, 20, and the young couple settled in Bago Bantay, Quezon City, where they raised their family of four daughters (Letty, Tessie, Ely and Aury) followed by two sons (Teroy and John).

At 41, Benny’s parents in-law Raymond and Ruth sponsored their family’s immigration to the U.S., and on January 17th 1967, Benny, Mary, and their six children landed on American soil, settling at their home on 13 Heath Street in Milpitas, California. The family worked on Raymond’s flower nursery, tending to fields of pompons and chrysanthemums that would later become the site of Walmart in McCarthy Ranch.

Like all immigrants striving to make it in America, Benny exemplified a diligent work ethic, serving as a Maintenance Supervisor at Fairchild Semiconductor in Mountain View, where he worked for over 30 years. As a skilled carpenter and handyman, nothing brought Benny more joy than to build and repair things with his own hands; from a gazebo in the backyard, wooden cabinetry, and home furnishings, there wasn’t a room in the house that didn’t have Tatay’s handy touch. Benny also loved automobiles and in his time owned a 1970s red Cadillac, yellow Triumph TR7, and 1980 cobalt blue Jaguar XJS.

Filipino food and agriculture were mainstays of the home that Benny built. While Mary gardened flowers, Benny planted vegetables (persimmon, lemon and calamansi lime trees, as well as sitaw beanstalks, chayote squash vines and garlic cloves), sharing the fruits of each harvest amongst every household in his family. To complement Nanay’s sweet puto rice cakes, Tatay’s signature dish was his one-of-a-kind chocolate meat dinuguan.

Every year during the holidays, Benny would install festive Christmas decorations on the exterior of his house, climbing a ladder two-stories to fully dress the home, top-to-bottom, covered in lights. Unmissable to any passerby as the brightest, most cheerful house on the block, Benny’s Christmas lights became an annual fixture of the neighborhood, which was ceremoniously honored on the front page of the Milpitas Post in the early 2000s.

Benny joins his wife of 63 years, Mary, and their late daughter, Teresita Agustin. He is survived by five children and four of their spouses (Leticia Michaels, Elisa Balangue, Aurelia and Sonny Mirador, Antero and Jingo Abellera, John and Minda Abellera, and Dominick Agustin), along with 13 grandchildren, 24 great grandchildren, one great great grandchild.

Benny will forever be remembered by the signature pose he’d do whenever taking a photo, a simple “thumbs up” which was always accompanied with a big happy smile.