Eulogy for Emilio "Mil" Villareal

By Ernest Villareal and Amalia Villareal Lopez

September 26, 2011

 Quiet, kind, unassuming and gentle – just a few ways to describe our father. All our lives, we watched him tirelessly give his all and share the load with our mother to raise 9 children. When there was deafening noise, there he was – quiet and waiting patiently for it to die down. When we were sick, he provided room service with tea and crackers. When we cried in pain from punishment, he showed gentleness with 5 or 10 centavos for each of us to buy candy. And, when the famous and the least known gave him accolades for his musical genius, he remained humble. Dad was the most fair person I knew and he treated all of us equally, even the grandchildren. Outside of our family, he didn’t care what your social stature was in life – he treated you with respect and appreciation.

 All of us are born with a gift and Daddy was no different. What we do with that gift is up to us. At the age of 5, he climbed steep ladders to carry paint up to where his father was painting the Boljo-on church ceiling with beautiful reflections of angels and saints. It was his brother, however, who mastered the art of painting. The sound of music called Daddy to a life and career in music that spanned several decades. What was so remarkable was that as he was sharing his gift of music, he provided for us. Times were difficult then, but between Mom and Dad, they made sure we had a taste of many of the pleasures a child could imagine, limited as sometimes they were. Dad always thought of others before himself. Mom used to ask him why his take home pay in cash was so little? That’s because he would pay his orchestra members first. Most especially, we were all gifted with a good education and eventually set free to explore our own pursuits.

 His talent did not go unnoticed. Whether he was composing the most compelling love songs or entertaining radio listeners in daily or weekly jamborees, it only seemed fitting that those whom he touched began to call him “Maestro Mil.”  Growing up, we always thought Maestro Mil was none other than Daddy. It seemed strange to us that people called him that way. How did time pass so quickly that when we finally realized how precious his contributions were to the Visayan music industry, we would be too old ourselves to try and learn just a little of what he knew about music. His gift was in the giving. He gave many Cebuanos the reason to love, hope when there was despair, and the chance to dream for the impossible. We know now that Maestro Mil was no easy title to be earned.

 When he retired and moved to Canada, the sound of music reached his ears again. Before long, he was the driving factor in the numerous successful concerts that showcased the Philippine Choral group. The Philippine Choral group honored him with one of the most touching tributes when they sang songs that Dad arranged at the memorial mass to celebrate his life at the St. Thomas More Church in Edmonton, Canada on September 16, 2011.

 Through his last days, Daddy continued to share his gift of music as he played the church songs during the daily masses he attended with Mommy. With his passing, he leaves a void in everyone’s hearts that he touched – his family, the churchgoers, volunteers, the musical talents that he nurtured and so many more. He was a trooper inspite of the many aches and pains he endured. He hated using his walker but that was the only way we would allow him to be moving about. This past Christmas, we celebrated his 90^th birthday in Las Vegas. There was not a doubt in our minds that this was one of the happiest moments of his life … and for us. How blessed we were to have that time with him.

 In his passing, we know in our hearts that in the midst of our sorrow, the blessings are still there for us to find. They are God’s gifts and we must put them to good use, as Daddy did. We know he is with God, shining a light on each of us, showing us the way through our tears and letting us know that he now is living in perfect happiness making beautiful music with the angels and saints.

 Let me close by reading an excerpt from John 14.

 On the night before he died, Jesus said … I will come back again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be … Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you … Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.