A Celebration of Life

In memory of Tatay Cornelio

Tatay Cornelio was born on 27 November 1933 in San Jose Batangas, Philippines. His parents were ordinary peasants who, because of their circumstances, tasked Tatay Cornelio with lots of work during his tender years. He was not able to finish his elementary grades. Soon after he became a teenager, he left the province and sought his fortune in Manila. He worked as a panadero(baker) and a pandesal(bun bread) peddler at the same time somewhere in Quezon City. He was a hard-working man whose motto was to stand on his own. In 1959, he met Inay Santa, a tindera(store keeper) in one of the panaderias(bakery) in Kamuning, Quezon City. They were blessed with 8 children namely Dennis, Delfin, Delia, Danilo, Daisy, Dulce, Donald, and Joan.

They leveraged the small money they had borrowed from relatives. With a few capital on hand and a lot of guts, they put up a bakery store. Inay Santa’s acumen and dedication in business complemented Tatay Cornelio’s perseverance and hard-working attitude. The couple’s dream to educate their children came into reality. They proudly stood up as outstanding parents of their hometown for having raised educated children even without the benefit of high school education.

Tatay Cornelio had his own share of failures and regrets in life. Although, God is so slow to anger and abounding in love that God extended His call to surrender his life to our loving Savior. 16 years of Inay Santa’s prayer, the family would have not made it through without the Lord’s compassion in his life.

He fully surrendered his life to Jesus when he migrated to Canada. He became a changed man. The Lord took all his vices and he openly testified how God has been so good to him and the family. People love to hear his story in his community. He could hardly read, but his bible is full of lines from cover to cover. He loved to pray not just for the family but for others. He served as a church caretaker for years enjoying the service, for it is his way of thanking God.

However, his unhealthy lifestyle in the past manifested in his health sometime in 2005 when he was diagnosed to have a serious heart problem complicated by emphysema. He could have died back then but the Lord, upon constant appeal of the family and friends, gave him another chance to live after a triple heart bypass. He was miraculously healed after 11 days in comma. His testimony has been heard and circulated in Canada and in the Philippines. Last year he and Inay Santa celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in great fashion, just like what Tatay Cornelio would have wanted to see.

His health started to fail on 30 December 2009. He was brought back to the hospital many times over. He was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, COPD, and a kidney problem. The family would have wanted Tatay Cornelio to live longer but the Lord our God, decided what was best for him and the family. He passed away on 01 March 2010 to be with our LORD.

Despite the family’s grief, we still rejoice because Jesus said in John 11:25 "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies”. We believe that Tatay Cornelio is now resting in peace with our loving Savior Jesus Christ our Lord. He is now eternally healed in heaven for it is described in Rev 21:4 when Jesus tells those who are with Him, that “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain”.

ETERNALLY HEALED

Cornelio, our Tatay, is now gone with the Lord.

One final wish when he got the Father’s call.

Reluctant as he was for he fought really hard,

Nothing more can be asked for victory is had.

Even though it pains us to let go of his life,

Later it was we grasped that his time is truly ripe.

In God we yearned… we longed,… we appealed.

On Him Tatay finds rest, and is eternally healed.

Praise the Lord forevermore!

-Patron Family