Gregorio Guting Arellano

Gregorio Guting Arellano was born on December 24, 1920 in Camiling, Tarlac. His parents were Miguel Arellano and Maria Guting. His mother gave birth to 18 children, 9 of whom survived. Gregorio was the eighth child.

All of Gregorio's siblings were accomplished in their respective fields of profession: education, medicine (medical doctor, dentist, nurse), and agriculture. Gregorio became an Aeronautical Engineer and martial arts practitioner (Judo). Maria Guting was awarded Mother of the Year in the late1950's. The plaque was given to honor her widowed mother for having all 9 children become professionals in their chosen career.

When Miguel Arellano had departed in 1951, Maria Guting was able to manage numerous properties in acreages, called haciendas, ranging from rice plantation to fruit and vegetable orchards as well as farmlands to raise cows, horses, carabaos, pigs, and chicken. The administrators for each property stayed loyal to help his mother continue the work left by his father, Miguel Arellano.

The Arellano family in Camiling was also known for allowing any churches that want to use each year the well-kept life-size religious statues set on carousels that depicted the life and passion of Jesus Christ during the Lenten processions. These statues were safely stored in the basement.

A few highlights of Gregorio's rich educational development and military experience in the Philippines during the 1940s:

• 1940: Graduate Aircraft Master Mechanic Course in American Far Eastern School of Aviation (AFESA)
Graduate ROTC Basic Course in AFESA

• 1941: First Year Aeronautical Engineering in AFESA
Finished one year ROTC advance course in AFESA
Finished two months ROTC Cadre Training in Zablan Field
• 1943: Fought in the Philippine military against Japanese occupation -- September 15, 1943 as Guerrilla in G-2, Bonzo Company Tarlac West Sector with the rank of 1st Lieutenant as G-2 Platoon Commander under the command of Capt. H. Nagal Bonzo.

He displayed outstanding quality as a platoon commander in operations in Mayantoc, Camiling, San Clemente, Santa Ignacia, Tarlac and Cagayan Valley with the 632nd Infantry Division.

After WWII, Gregorio completed his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering degree and worked at Clark US Air Field (later known as Clark US Air Force Base) for more than two decades. Starting as an aircraft maintenance mechanic working on propeller and jet engines, he became one of the first Filipinos to become a maintenance supervisor. In addition, Gregorio was a training instructor for incoming American and Filipino engineers to work in the aircraft maintenance group at the base. Gregorio, who had a Federal Aviation Administration international license as an aeronautical flight engineer, was able to secure work in major airlines such as Air America and Civil Air Transport. He had overseas work for more than a decade throughout Asia: Laos, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan.

Gregorio's life in the United States began in 1977 after his daughter Olivia petitioned in 1976 for the permanent residency of Gregorio and his wife Teresita. For over three decades, Gregorio lived in different parts of the United States with his children who cared for him: Olivia (East Coast), Brenda (West Coast), and Errol (Midwest). (His daughter, Rebecca, continues to live in the Philippines.)

1977: New Jersey
1979: Orlando, Florida
1981: New Jersey
1982 - 1987: San Diego
1987 - 1989: Wichita, Kansas
1989-1997: New York
1997 - 2011: San Diego

Gregorio spent the last fourteen years of his life in San Diego, California where he later received care from his daughter Brenda and her husband Fernando. He also enjoyed the company of the elderly Filipino community at the Horizon Adult Care Center in National City of which he was an inaugural member. He enjoyed participating in a variety of stimulating group activities like bingo, karaoke singing, therapeutic exercises, arts and craft projects and reading current events. He referred to his favorite one as "dancing-dancing". At the 1998 Father's Day Celebration, he was awarded Father of the Year.

After several years of living with dementia, Gregorio passed away on August 30, 2011 with Brenda at his bedside in hospice care. Due to his service during World War II in the Philippines, he receives military honors. Gregorio is laid to rest in Greenwood Mausoleum, Court of Wisdom (San Diego) where he will join his wife, Teresita (1928-1988).

Gregorio was married to Teresita Roldan de Leon in 1941 and they were blessed with four children; namely, Olivia, Rebecca, Brenda, and Errol in that order. There are eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Olivia, the eldest, has four children; namely, Rhovia, Rhodora, Vincent, and Victoria. Brenda has Jeffrey, while Errol, his only son, has Alysworth, Alyssa, and Alethea. The great grandchildren are Erich (13 years old), Lucas (9 years old), Lara (9 years old), Sierra (8 years old, Jordan (3 years old), and Vincent Miles, the most recent addition in the family, was born on august 22, 2011.