DR ROMULO FERNANDEZ MAGSINO

Condolences & Memories (3 entries)

• On behalf of the University of Santo Tomas Alumni Association of Manitoba, Inc. officers and members, I would like to extend our condolences to the Magsino family. Dr. Romy was an active member of our association as Chairman of the Scholarship Committee. We are truly grateful for Dr. Romy Magsino for sharing his time and knowledge with us. He will be forever remembered. Reggie Valencia- Santos USTAAMI - Posted by: Reggie (Friend ) on: Dec 08, 2022

• My family and I mourn the passing of Dr. Romulo Magsino – holder of a doctorate degree in education –, have him and his whole family in our prayers, and join Fellow Knights of the Order of Rizal and our Canadian Filipino community in conveying our condolences to his wife Leah, son Romulo Jr., daughters Dr. Tricia and Mabelle, and their families, and sister Ellen Lacandula. I will always remember how privileged my family and I were when we first met Romy – as we have since called him in the community – in 1982. My family hosted him at home in Winnipeg during that year’s National Conference of the United Council of Filipino Associations in Canada held in the city. He would soon serve as one of its first four Regional Vice-Presidents, representing the Atlantic region, following the Council’s Conference in 1984 in Toronto. At that time, he had just received his full Professorship in the Faculty of Education at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, the largest university in Atlantic Canada. Yet, he found time to be a dedicated volunteer. Along with a handful of others on the new Council Executive, we so re-organized and profiled the Council so that two years later the Government of Canada – through its CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) Program Planning Mission to the Philippines following the 1986 Peaceful People Power Revolution that installed President Cory Aquino – noticed and directly engaged the Canadian Filipino community through its Council on the CIDA Mission. When Dr. Romy Magsino accepted the offer to become Head of the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Education in 1988 and moved his family to Winnipeg, the Canadian Filipino community in the province felt a special sense of pride and accomplishment, heightened as it was when he later became Dean of the Faculty. We were truly blessed at the community level. Whether it was an engagement with big community events, organizations, and projects such as when advancing the ideals of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal on human dignity via the Order of the Knights of Rizal, and when seeking federal funding for the Philippine Canadian Center of Manitoba; or a small gathering of Canadian Filipino families and friends at homes or social parties; or, simply, a one-to-one coffee-talk conversation, Romy would always be there ready to lend his reasoned voice and thoughtful idea to a worthy community endeavor. At all times his mettle and leadership are felt. Indeed, our community lost a scholar of both mind and heart in his passing. May we take comfort in the assurance that Romy – husband, father, father-in-law, grandpa, and brother – is now with Our Father in Heaven and earning the rewards of eternal bliss. Rest in peace, Sir Romy. - Hon. Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan, P.C., M.P., O.M., LL.D., Sc.D., M.Sc., M.D. (A Fellow Grand Knight, Order of the Knights of Rizal) - Posted by: Hon. Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan (Friend) on: Dec 03, 2022

• Rom, Michelle and family, I am so very sorry for your loss. My prayers and thoughts are with you. - Posted by: Deb Bernier (Friend) on: Dec 03, 2022