Eric Ramos

Friends and Family uploaded 13 to the gallery.

A Tribute to my brother Eric, my chaperone, my protector - By Nora Ramos Mangunay Our sister-brother bond: <br>We were always in each other's lives, up through the last few years and last few weeks of his illness, geographic distance and leading our own separate complicated adult lives did not diminish our bond. <br>I avoided the inevitable which was to discuss his death plans. On Halloween, 10/31, the day before he passed, last message to me was "Thank you ate Nora, I'll be here for Eden and Flor tomorrow.” <br>Flor and Eden were going there the next day to give him his weekly 2 hour aromatic massage and to clean up his place. He liked the smell of freshness. Eric knew they were also bringing a pot and tupperware of food I cooked, the lugaw (rice porridge)with fish en tocho (black beans and tofu) and salmon bellies and heads, and sinigang sa bayabas (fish stew in guava broth with kangkong leaves). Two weeks before I made him white fish Pesa (ginger fish stew) the way our mother made it, with a sprinkling of rice in the broth. A few weeks before that, I made him adobong pusit (squid) in black ink, his favorite. <br>Hence, when Eric did not come to answer the door the following day 11/1, I knew something had happened. <br>Did I miss the signs? Yes, he called me "Ate,” meaning elder sister, the day before. You see, even though my parents had tried to instill this old-time terminology of respect for older siblings, Eric would always say when we were younger (as did my other younger brothers), "call me “Kuya” first then I'll call you “Ate.” <br>I'm the eldest of 7, and when we were teens, my father made Eric my official chaperone when I went out with my friends or to parties; most of my friends treated him like their brother as well. Initially he liked it because he could tag along to parties where sometimes bands such as the Moonstrucks and the Deltas played. Later on, he didn't complain either because he got to drive the car.<br>I didn't realize that Eric’s role as my chaperone and protector would extend up through college and medical school. By then it had become an unwanted chore for him, because he had his own parties and happenings to attend. Sometimes our cousin Manny Herrera would step in for him as my chaperone. Eric must have been relieved when his role as my chaperone stopped when I dated Danny; he knew that finally somebody else was going to protect me. <br>We protected each other, without words being said but by deeds. One of our mama’s favorite stories from our childhood was how I fired Eric’s nanny when he was 4 years old and gave her a tongue-lashing after I saw her throw a dirty diaper at him. I was hus older sister at 6 years of age then, and when our mom came home, the nanny had already packed her belongings and was crying about how she was fired. <br>My brother was far from perfect, he had many flaws like all of us do, and he made some wrong decisions in his life. He also brought joy and mirth to our home in Manila - he was a jokester - for example, he slid lizard eggs under my door so I would unknowingly step on them. He was silly and gave us such bellyaches from unbridled laughter. <br>Eric was an activist in college, a Sigma Rhoan, Batch 1969 following the footsteps of our father Cesar P. Ramos, Batch 1939. He went to Davao after UP and attended Mindanao U. for Mass Communication. He met his then-wife Lydia Cuison, a Davaoena, with whom he has 3 children, Nikki, Marianne, and Paolo. His two other sons are Gino and Miguel. <br>A year before our mother died in Florida in 2001, mama and I were in daily communication. We were worried about his toxic situation in Manila; after our mama was laid to rest, Eric decided to stay here in the US for good after his forced and premature retirement from PAL (when the tyrant Marcos crony Lucio Tan took over). He had worked for PAL for more than 25 years. Two of his children, Paolo and Marianne were already here in NJ with us. <br>Eric went to Chubb Institute for computer and data programming, and resumed his normal life here in NJ but visited Manila regularly. We enjoyed and cherished all of our family gatherings, holidays, and milestones - our kids’ weddings and then our grandchildren came fast and furious, one after the other. He was active with his UP Sigma Rhoan brods in New York. <br>Eric came to my aid again when my husband fell seriously ill in 2006. He brought Danny for his early 6am radiation treatments daily for 40 days (Danny is a UP Upsilonian, my brother is a UP Sigma Rhoan, but Eric was always transparent, non-judgmental, non-discriminating and non-elitist, none of the tayo-tayo-sila-sila exclusive mindset). On the contrary, Eric was overly inclusive which would sometimes irritate me. <br>Little did I know that years after, and until his own illness sidelined him, Eric also offered his time and services for his brods who needed assistance, and brought them to their chemo treatments and other medical appointments. He was instrumental in creating their NY Chapter Sigma Rho website and promoting their activities. <br>Eric was a comic, he would tell the most hilarious jokes or sing dirty ditties with a straight face. He loved music(it runs in the family) - he was a very simple man, with simple needs, humility was his twin, but he was also fiercely independent, a deep thinker, and a philosopher. He preferred to stay independent and remain in his own place up through his last days despite our family and his Oncology team's pleas and admonitions. <br>Eric was symptomatic with multiple GI issues after his last visit to Manila in November of 2018 to visit Nikki and his apos and to take care of family business and then all of our worst fears were realized when Pancreatic cancer Stage IV was definitively diagnosed by January of 2019. <br>During Eric’s illness this past year, his Don Bosco high school friends visited him, some even flying here from out-of-state. His brods from UP Sigma Rho and sisses Delta Lambdans constantly kept him company and buoyed his spirits, even fixed up his place to make it safer for him at home. Our family came to visit him including his newborn grand-niece Riley, his sons from the Philippines, his siblings, nieces and nephews from Florida. So many people loved this humble, simple man, who never complained, my brother. <br>When Eric was told that the final line of chemotherapy was no longer working, he chose to be under hospice care at his home. He must have sensed that the inevitable was getting closer - he and Danny spoke, and Eric actually told him that he felt the end was near for him, 11 months after he was diagnosed and sentenced. My husband Danny, who rarely speaks anymore, told me this while crying when I came home about 3-4 weeks ago, and so the more I avoided seeing my brother in rapidly deteriorating health. My only consolation was that I told him what I was deliberately doing. <br>On the day of my brother's passing, no one could avoid the inevitable end any longer. Shock, regrets, guilt, everyone has these feelings. For me, we had agreed to have his 69th birthday party in December at my home in Green Brook. His fraternity has a rondalla who played during his daughter Marianne’s engagement party, and I told him we should have them play again for his birthday party. <br>I was planning a big shindig, a celebration of Eric’s courage and an acknowledgement of his great perseverance and suffering - something special for my brother, my chaperone and protector, my "kuya." <br>But being the jokester that he was, fate and he decided for him to go on to a bigger universe on All Saint's Day, November 1st. He will be interred on November 9th, and I just realized, that will be a day after the 33rd death anniversary of our late father Cesar 11/8/1986. Eric has followed he and mama into Eternal Peace and Light. <br>“Thy will be done,” - although the pain is so real, and the void Eric leaves is unbearable...........Amen.

Lolo Eric we love you always Sibby, Daphne, Eli, Izzy, Asa, Jason. Jackson,Jordan, Angelica, Enrique, Sofia, Allie, Caleb &amp; Riley. Thank

When uncle Eric felt sick, he said I was the only one who understood him. We went upstairs and I watched him. <br>Jeremy Mangunay

Sybil and Daphne lit a candle for

Angelica, Enrique, Sofia, Allie lit a candle for