“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4”
RUFO M. Valenzuela, a mechanical engineer from Paoay, Ilocos Norte, died Friday (Saturday Philippine time) in Saline, Michigan, where he had lived for nearly 32 years, his family announced. He was 69.
Valenzuelan, an alumnus of FEATI University, relocated to Saline, a main agricultural shipping point in southeastern Michigan, a year after his marriage to Menchie Galinato, a registered nurse from Ilocos Norte and Pangasinan.
His wife predeceased him on Nov. 15, 2020 during the global health emergency.
Valenzuela, who occasionally had vacations in his hometown of Paoay, the son of retired public school teachers Alfredo Valenzuela and Manuela Valenzuela, nee Martin, is survived by his three younger siblings: Rachel, a CPA who just retired as municipal budget officer ofPaoay; Loida, the provincial veterinarian of Ilocos Norte; and Fernando, an electrical engineer working as an OFW in the Netherlands.
He is also survived by two brothers-in-law and two sisters-in-law, seven nephews and four nieces.
Rachel, four year’s Rufo’s junior, remembers their brother as “prayerful and protective” of his siblings, a “responsible brother who always looked after our welfare first before his own, a loving son, brother and, most especially, a loving husband who taught us by his actions how to be prudent in handling our finances.”
Rufo is the nephew of Honor Blanco Cabie, opinion editor of the English language Manila Standard.
Funeral announcements have not been announced, but his family in Paoay, a heritage town for its well-preserved colonial architecture, particularly the iconic Paoay Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has started, in keeping with Ilokano tradition a nine-day novena mass for the eternal rest of his soul.