Obituary of Gileu B. Lopez

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Gil was born in Gamu, Isabel, Philippines where his father, a land surveyor, was stationed. The family soon settled in the neighboring province of Nueva Vizcaya in Bayombong.  These parts of northern Luzon are very mountainous, heavily forested, and with few amenities; an area where rumors of ‘Gold in thar hills’ echoed and called out Gils name.  The story is called ‘Yamashita’s Gold’ the ‘Loot of Luzon’.  It was stolen treasure from all-over South-East Asia that was hidden in caves, tunnels and underground caverns by Imperial Japanese forces in the years just before their surrender to American forces. These stories of hidden treasure captivated his imagination and was instrumental in shaping his professional life in the field of Engineering, Mining.  

Gil graduated in 1961 with an Associate in Surveying and in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering.   During that time, he started a family with Preciosa (Precy) Perez and they married in April 27, 1963.  Four children followed: Roehl (Dec’63), Mark (Aug’66), Aileen (Nov’67), Ashley (Oct’68).  

By late 1960’s Gil left for Canada and worked throughout northern parts of the provinces and territories gaining experience with mines that were into gold exploration. In 1970, he was hired as ‘Mine Planning Engineer’ by Hudson Bay Mining to work at their Sylvite Mine in Rocanvile, SK.  Gil brought his family from Philippines in 1971 to Moosomin, SK.  The family came piecemeal; Precy, Roehl & Mark came first with Aileen and Ashley (with their Lola Betty) arriving the following year.

Gil worked exhaustively on his thesis for a couple of years towards a Professional Engineering (P. Eng.) designation through the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario which was attained by mid 1970s.  By that time the family was heavily involved in town and church activities: bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, bottle drives, brownies/boy scouts, baseball, hockey, bowling leagues, Tupperware parties, hair perming classes, piano lessons, band, music festivals, birthday parties, Christmas caroling, and on and on.  

By 1980, Hudson Bay Mining was rolled into Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) and Gil found himself moving his family once again.  This time to Saskatoon.  He worked briefly with PCS in Saskatoon and in 1982 found himself working with the Government of Saskatchewan – Energy and Mines Division in Regina. Precy and the kids remained in Saskatoon.  The kids were either starting high school or university and another move was considered to be too disruptive to their education.   

For the following 10 years, Gil would work in Regina during the week and come to Saskatoon during the weekends and holidays.  While in Regina, he enjoyed playing badminton, tennis and golf; also, completed an Accounting Certificate through SIAST Wascana and operated a couple of rental houses.

By 1992 the children either had graduated from university, got married, or was old enough to continue with their adult life.  Time for Gil and Precy to be whole again.  Precy moved to Regina.  In 1997 they started their very first level I & II Care Home and by 2005 they were operating 3 in the city.  Gil retired from Energy and Mines in 2004.

In early 2009 the call from ‘thar hills’ beckoned.  A call so powerful that it could no longer be dismissed.  The timing was right!  He had accomplished what he came to Canada for.    He spent the following 10 years in search for riches untold. Pursuing his childhood dream.  

Numbers 6:24-26 24“The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” 

Gil you are loved, treasured and will be missed greatly by:
Precy, Roehl, Mark, Aileen, & Ashley
Son-In-Law Vince, Daughter-In-Law Maria.  Grandchildren: Cody, Connor, Paige, Rayne
Siblings: Teresita (Peter (h)), Jose (Gloria(w)), Josefina (Rey(h)), Jaime (Linda(w))
And your many nephews and nieces
 

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Saskatoon Funeral Home (338 4th Avenue N.) in Saskatoon. In lieu of flowers, the family gratefully thanks you for your thoughts and wishes and kindly requests that you provide donations to a deserving local charity of your choice. 

My fondest memories of my Dad... by Aileen

During my younger years I remember his love for cooking.  We had a large garden and Dad was VERY creative in the meals and we would try and guess which vegetable(s) was being used for that meal.  We certainly knew which vegetable had a bigger percentage of the garden (100 ways to cook squash).  If the meal took a long time to prepare, you knew it was going to be fantastic!  Having supper at 9pm was the norm.

During my early teens I always looked forward to the weekends mainly for the hours spent riding around with dad doing errands or just touring the city.  My favourite stops were the car wash (I always found it mesmerizing watching the strips of cloth swaying side to side) and visiting friends/family.  Dads love of driving expanded to camping holidays coast to coast of the United States.

During my early twenties dad would visit me at my apartment and where I worked and we would catch up on what we have been doing and compare books we were reading.  I am very thankful that Dad and Mom believed in us (my Husband, Vince, and myself) and helped fund our dream to start our own business (The Broadway Roastery).  We finally got them to change to REAL coffee from instant coffee, YAY!

Then the grandchildren came.  Dad thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and found them very entertaining.  I LOVED watching them interact!  Lolo (Grandpa in Filipino) loved to laugh and play games with them.  He even taught Cody (eldest son) how to play chess at an early age of 5!

As the years went by and life got hectic, I didn't see Dad as often.  Although our visits were sporadic, he never forgot to call or send a note to wish all of us a ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Happy Anniversary’ or ‘Happy Mothers Day’.

My fondest memories of Dad helped shape me to the person I am.  I LOVE to cook; and, to this day, I often make his recipes (and so does Vince).  Although I don't like driving, I still LOVE riding around and touchless car washes. We did a lot of camping when my kids were growing up.  Reading novels is a big part of my life.  

So, Rest in Peace Dad! You will be in my heart forever. 

In loving memory of my Dad....

Remembering    by Ashley

As the youngest of 4 children, you’d think that I had it the easiest growing up……. well, that’s partially correct.  I was blessed to have 3 older, very difficult, and stubborn siblings.  They helped paved the way for me.  After them, my parents no longer had the strength to do any further disciplining; not that I needed much.

I don’t remember dad being around when I was a baby.  At least I can’t recall.  The story goes - that when I arrived in Canada at age 4, I called him, ‘Uncle’.  He was heartbroken.  The family arrived in Canada piecemeal. Dad arrived in late 60’s to find a career that would put his Degrees in Surveying and Engineering to good use. Mom and my older brothers arrived in ‘71. Aileen and I followed a year (or two?) later.

However, I do remember dad was there……. for my love for the outdoors.  
I remember him waking me up Saturday mornings during fall season, before sunrise, to go hunting. I’d like to think that he chose me because I didn’t complain about getting up early.  What was there to complain about? I loved it!  It was just me and him.  He’d pack some bologna or ham sandwiches and a thermos of broth.  After a quick morning of driving around looking for grouse or shooting at sticks in Pipestone Creek, he’d treat us to lunch at the local café --An open beef sandwich with homemade gravy, fries, and peas – and a Coke.  A very rare thing indeed growing up.

I remember fishing trips listening to his favorite……. Yoyoy Villame, a comedic Filipino singer from the 80’s. No fishing trip was complete without listening to this artist for at least a couple hours.  I still listen to Yoyoy.

It feels like it was just yesterday that dad was clambering over the rocky shoreline at Otter Rapids trying to get that ‘Perfect’ spot.  I can still see him, clearly, frustrated with losing many rigs due to the river current wedging them into rocks.  He would spend the rest of that day inventing something made from fishing line and pebbles so that rigs could be retrieved easily.  He was always trying to find ways to make fishing easier and cheaper; a very good and worthy thing to do.

I remember dad was there……. to create fantastic meals. 
He was a ‘Lauya’ expert.  Making the best soup/stew out of nothing at all.  It was a staple dish on either a Saturday/Sunday afternoon during the colder months.  His adobo was truly special; both chicken and pork versions.  I know Aileen/Vince enjoy his version of adobo and, to this day, make it often.  He was way ahead of the curve using flowers (ie: zucchini) in his dishes.

What made dad great at cooking was that he wasn’t afraid to experiment. He was always willing to try new things; However, almost to a fault!   The ‘fault’ that comes to mind? Adobo ……. with CHICKEN HEARTS.  Now you may think or say to yourself ‘What’s the big deal? Just pick out the hearts. Simple!’ But what you must realize is that the whole dish was hearts.  Nothing but hearts.  It smelled great, but when that Pyrex lid was lifted off the dish…there it was.  We grew up knowing that we had to eat whatever was made for supper; that, and we had to eat everything that was served on our plate.  As you can well imagine, we were stuck with it.  We tried to make the best of the situation by seeing who could come up with the funniest thing/scenario regarding this dish.  Mark came up with the best. He’d place a nice warm heart into his mouth and press his tongue against the inner part of his cheek to the rhythm of a heartbeat.  It’s Alive! I don’t recall Dad making that dish again.  

I remember dad was there….to listen to our silly jokes and banter; even when they were about him.  
We would often make fun of his pronunciation of certain English words or how he would phrase certain things.  The way he would say ‘Schweppes’ came out as ‘Sha-waps’. ‘Rocks’ was ‘Racks’. ‘Thyme’ became ‘Thine’….and so on.  Despite our ribbing, he joined in our fun with his laughter, bright eyes, and easy smile.  Our jokes, they were like ‘water off a ducks back’.

I remember dad was there…….as our fourth in tennis doubles:  Roehl, Mark, Dad & me.   Despite the large age gap, we were able to make the teams relatively competitive.  We always laughed when Dad was able to deliver a serve that the opponent was unable to return. He had a choppy slice serve that would slide a bit and not bounce to a normal height.  Yes, I was usually that opponent.  

I remember dad was there….for many things: helped me understand how to interpret and play music piano pieces, tried teaching me basic English grammar, how to hold a strong stance in martial arts, the correct weed to harvest from the front lawn to be used in another unusual dish (Kalunai comes to mind), how to make perfect rice, how to play chess and golf, the best way to wash a car, my personal chauffeur to the emergency room on many occasions for countless stitches from head to toe,  trips to the specialists,  our driver and tour guide throughout Canada and the states…..and so on.

Dad was there……..

I will miss you father!

Love, Your Youngest
Ash