Another brother crossed the bar

                          JOSE V. NERI

                   Born June 19, 1938

                 Died January 10, 2023

               

For man crossing the bar is one imperative nobody in this world escapes from. Still, every time, we give pause to ponder on such passing.  The uniqueness and significance of any one such event reminding us of the ultimate care the Creator showers on each person, down to the pettiness of knowing and keeping in existence each strand of hair he possesses.

In keeping then with such tradition, I mark and set aside time to delve on the life of my brother who just crossed the bar.

In the stillness and quietude of my brother's life,  we can discern many instances when he showed and understood the nobility of life and the filial care we each should have of every other of our kind.

Without noise of words, he showed in his own unobtrusive ways and loud actions that he truly believed these very basic premises, though at times because of our flawed nature, he may have fallen short in his interpretation and in his guidance.

Early in his life he had discovered and nurtured the idea of service to humanity.  In school, he showed not only serious demeanor in his study but also in extra-curricular activities such as serving Mass and teaching catechism to youths in the city.

As no surprise then, right after graduation from high school, Dodong joined the Society of Jesus with a group of his classmates, starting the pursuit of their vocation at the novitiate in Novaliches, Manila.  He stayed there for about 2 years.

As far as we could gather his leaving was a cooperative decision between himself and the society.  It was the common decision that since he did not possess enough of the vocation to pursue it to its end  that rather he would be more fulfilled and suited for some other career in life.

And this he did, and decided instead to pursue the study of medicine, which even then revealed his deep conviction in service to humanity.

From pursuing a vocation tasked with the saving of souls, he would instead choose a profession that would pursue preserving and saving the human body.

The study of medicine was a long and arduous one even for a very passionate and dedicated person like Dodong.  Many challenges stood in his way.  First and foremost was financial, thus most times he had to be a part time medical student taking on employment on the side.

But his sacrifices paid off, finally finishing all studies by 1972. It was the onset of Martial Law in deeply-troubled Philippines, so Dodong decided to travel to the US.  And there he would stay till his retirement, again running through a gauntlet of countless challenges presented not only under the new environment, but even with the very practice of the profession that he had sacrificed for in his old homeland.   But persevering, he overcame them all, practicing pediatrics in the State of Michigan for many years. Then retiring after age caught up with him.  But in all those intervening years enjoying the manifold blessings of his adopted country, he ever missed any opportunity to help and assist  family members who were left behind.

He came back to his homeland almost 5 years ago before his death, registering a life lived to the full measure and more.