War and Deliverance
Dolores and Simeon Lopez
It may be no coincidence that the magnificent neoclassical building of the Central Post Office by the Pasig River was recently burned down—an incendiary image of Manila after the war oddly recurring in the Philippines today. Somehow, a ruined heritage, lack of funds for rebuilding national shrines, and a damaged culture come to mind when one compares pictures of this same building in 1945 and in 2024.
Many are the untold stories of how WWII affected Filipinos in the brutal occupation by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945, but also of the destruction of Manila in February 1945.
One of these stories is that of my grandaunt Dolores Alcantara-Lopez, a U.P. Education and Library Science graduate, who had married Simeon Lopez, a high school teacher and Philippine Army Reserve Scout on December 23, 1939. Dolores or “Loleng” was the sister of my grandfather Dr. Vivencio C. Alcantara (viz. PF article on “My Pioneering Grandfather”).
Cezar as baby with aunt Dr. Guillerma “Imay” Lopez
Simeon and Loleng had a son, Cezar, born on September 28, 1940, and she was eight months pregnant with their second child, Gloria, when her husband was called to active duty after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Philippines in December 1941. One would think that a father of one with a second on the way would have been exempt from military duty, but such was patriotism and law at the time that Simeon Lopez promptly reported to his brigade. He survived the Bataan Death March but succumbed to malaria on June 5, 1942, in a Japanese concentration camp in Capas, Tarlac. He never knew his daughter, Gloria, who was born in January of that year.
Postwar Manila—a virtual hellhole of ruined buildings and lives--was no place to raise two young children then. Now a single mother, Loleng raised her children in Lingayen, Pangasinan, Simeon’s hometown, with the help of her sister-in-law Dr. Guillerma Lopez. With her U.P. degrees, Loleng was highly qualified and worked at the Pangasinan Provincial High School as Librarian and English teacher. Since she had also been trained in dressmaking and design, she also opened a women’s dress shop, training young women in sewing dresses that she designed in the evenings after her day job at the high school.
One can imagine her heartbreak but also her determination in giving the best care and education for her children by putting her grit, training, and creativity in her new circumstances. Loleng was born and grew up in the Panay Island city of Capiz but pursued her college degree in Manila. Far away from her Visayan roots and Manila’s rebuilding opportunities, Loleng turned her heartbreak into a quiet but triumphant journey of a woman who coped with her husband’s early and tragic demise. She focused on her children’s academic and professional success. Though still young and attractive, she never remarried.
Her father, Sisenando Alcantara, from Capiz (later Roxas) City on Panay island, would join her in the home she shared with her sister-in-law Dr. Guillerma (or Imay) Lopez. Her brother, Dr. Vivencio Alcantara, became the godfather of her son, Cezar, and a role model for him. He was named Cezar due to his birth by caesarian section performed by Dr. Alcantara. When Cezar grew up, he aspired to become a doctor, pursuing his medical degree at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center.
Gloria and Cezar both went to elementary and high school at St Columban’s Academy in Lingayen. Cezar finished Medicine in 1966 at the University of the East. Both emigrated to the United States--Cezar became a physician in internal medicine and gastroenterology while Gloria, after high school in Lingayen, obtained a scholarship at Nazareth College in Kentucky, where she studied and finished a BA in Music.
She then finished a master’s degree in music education at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Having taught at Nazareth College and Academy in Kentucky and at the Springhill School in Ohio, she also became Choir Director at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Villa Park, Illinois. She is currently Coordinator of the Art and Environment Ministry of the St Gilbert parish in Grayslake, Illinois.
Dr. Cezar Lopez worked for 37 years at the US Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington D.C. and had his private practice in Maryland. He raised his family of two with his wife, Cristina Bengson-Lopez, and retired in 2012. They have two grandchildren. He passed away in December 2023.
Dr. Cezar Lopez served 37 years as physician at the U.S. Veterans’ Retirement Home in D.C.
Gloria Lopez-Venzon, music educator and choir director
Gloria married U.P. B.S. Electrical Engineering and Illinois Institute of Engineering Ph.D. graduate Raul Venzon, with whom she raised two sons. Older son, Jay, finished a bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard and a law degree at Northwestern University. Their younger son, Jonathan, was a musical prodigy specializing in the cello, who tragically passed away in a boating accident at age 14. They established a foundation in his honor in 1999. Gloria and Raul Venzon have two grandchildren.
A marker in honor of the 11th Division of the Philippine Army, which fought in the Second World War and of which Simeon Lopez had been a member, was established in the 1950s. His widow, Dolores Lopez, was present at the inauguration of this memorial.
Many are the untold stories of how WWII affected Filipinos in the brutal occupation by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945, but also of the destruction of Manila in February 1945.
Tia Loleng did not live long enough to witness her children’s and grandchildren’s success in their respective careers and families. She passed away of cancer in 1959. Her legacy of hard work, education, persistence, and courage amid adversity live on in her descendants. They would have done Simeon and Dolores Lopez proud.
Wedding picture of Simeon and Dolores Lopez, December 1939
Children Cezar and Gloria Lopez in Filipiniana sewn by their mother
Simeon Lopez was honored together with his brigade at the opening of the memorial for the 11th Infantry Army Division, Camp General Leoncio Tan, in the 1950s. Dolores Lopez is shown at right in the flag-raising.
Gloria Lopez-Venzon (center) during a rigodon ball in Chicago, clad in a gown designed and sewn by her mother Dolores Lopez
The gifted Jonathan Lopez Venzon
The Lopez and Venzon children and grandchildren—legacy of Simeon and Dolores Lopez
A career diplomat of 35 years, Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. served as Philippine Ambassador to South Africa (2003-2009) and Italy (2011-2014), his last posting before he retired. He has written and edited six books, including Gloria: Roman Leoncio’s Kapampangan Translation of Huseng Batute’s Poem-Novel (Center for Kapampangan Studies, 2003) given the National Book award in 2004; In the National Interest: The Philippines and the UN: Issues of Disarmament, Peace and Security, 1986-1991(NY and Manila, 1991); La Revolucion Filipina, 1896-1898, El Nacimiento de Una Idea (Santiago de Chile, 1998); Nuestro Perdido Eden: A Novella on Manila (Ateneo de Naga Press, 2019); A Memory of Time collection of essays (Quezon City, 2020); and We Remember Rex@100 (Quezon City, 2022).
More articles by Ambassador Virgilio Reyes, Jr.
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