Dante Malijan Topacio

Dante Topacio was born in the Philippines on September 7, 1943. Among his 13 siblings. Dante was very close to his brother Adonis who passed last January. In the Philippines, he graduated in Dentistry and then migrated to the United States. He was employed by the American Red Cross for thirty years in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Dante was blessed with two children from Perla. There was Darlene, his daughter, and Dannty Boy, who is now in heaven with his daddy Dante, but gave him 3 surviving grandchildren.

Dante and I met through a friend. After a couple of years of dating, we got married. He loved road trips and horse racing. We both loved to dance too. Now, I didn't know he as a dance instructor until his sister told me. He tried to hide it from me, thinking I was going to get mad if he told me the truth. So, I put chalk marks on his dancing shoes, and when I saw him dance, I realized. BINGO!

Before Dante got sick, he did the cooking, cleaning, laundry and gardening. And when I would get home from work with a frown, he would ask me to walk back to the door, and enter again but with a smile on my face. He knew what time I would get home everyday, and he would make sure I a had a table ready waiting

for me. His favorite dishes were menudo, karekare, kutchinta, and halohalo. He also had a favorite well-memorize poem "Sitagepe At Ponggi" as well as a favorite Latin prayer he learned from his grandmother.

Dante always said he did not want to push carts and live in the streets. So, in 1992, we purchased a house. But in 2006, he had a stroke, became bedridden, and never recovered. Dante's family has always been updated on his condition through Face Time, all the way to the very end. During sad times, I would see him sad and unable to talk, and I would feel like a failure. It killed me deep sown seeing someone that is very close to my heart having a hard time. God finally took him home. No more agony, no more pain. I need to learn how to take things one day at a time, and I'm sure going to miss him every single day.

Dad, there are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.FunerariadelangelVN.com for the Topacio family.