Jocelyn Araceli Aromin Panglao ~ Class of 1971

Jocelyn “Jo” Aromin ~ Class of 1971

Arrived ~ 7/10/1953

Departed ~ 7/3/1995

Jocelyn Araceli Aromin Panglao
10 July 1953 – 3 July 1995

Jocelyn, or simply Jo, was a beautiful soul, so cool to chill with, kind and generous, quiet, and profound, she easily became my favorite sister since we were young living in Bangkok. Jo gave so much of herself to her family, to me especially, the youngest. I can say I first learned about life’s Ferris wheel from her. Jo lived in Baguio City, the mountain province and summer capital of the Philippines, attending college at UP Baguio. But during Martial Law, her boyfriend then, Domy Panglao, and she stopped going to school and got married. Many students in UP stopped school during ML, they couldn’t take the government oppression. Our family was still living in Bangkok at that time. Jo and Domy were pretty much on their own in Baguio, raising three handsome boys, all cool to the bone just like their parents. I would visit them often during my college years and babysit their kids. She had a silver store near Burnham Park, making custom made jewelry. I would buy loose gems for her when I would visit our parents in Bangkok.

Jo loved life, her family, the simplicity of being. She listened to classical music, liked green, read novels, and wrote journals. Jo was a free spirit in high school, she used to climb down the patio wall and go out with her friends, doing things some kids in ISB would do and be sent home. This was the groovy 60s! She was a great mother to Anton, Alessandro, and Emmanuel, learning how to be a homemaker as she went along, from the age of 19. Her life was short, too short, dying at the age of 42. We still miss her. God bless her always.


By Divina Aromin Diokno

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Eric Patch ~ Class of 1971

Eric Patch ~ Class of 1971

Departed ~ 1972 ~ Motorcycle accident in Iran

 

 

Eric and I were friends in Bangkok over several years in the late 1960s. I used to go to his house, which his mother Laure made so welcoming, and hang out with him before heading out into the Bangkok night for what kinds of fun I can’t remember, though I’m sure it included Mario’s Pizza in the Gaysorn shopping area. We once took a trip to Vientiane, Laos, together with his sister Arla, my brother Richard, and a woman who ostensibly was a chaperone. Eric was funny and smart, and always had his own way of dressing, mixing Carnaby Street mod with funky paisley ties and whatever else was around. I remember that during the trip to Vientiane, Eric spent a lot of his time reading in his bunk. It’s been many years since Eric died so suddenly, riding his motorcycle in Iran with his girlfriend, trying to get to Europe in a hurry; unfortunately, in Iran, the trucks in the mountain passes just turned off their lights at night and parked in the road. The only redeeming thing that can be said about someone having died so young is that Eric lived a full life, as young as he was, and left behind with anyone who ever knew him his infectious laughter and smile.

Dave Clarke 71′

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