Sebastian Bato Francisco

Obituary for Sebastian Bato Francisco

Sebastian Bato Francisco was born on January 20, 1948 in Philippines to the late Victor and Feliciana Francisco. He grew up in a close-knit family-oriented household and stayed very close to his many uncles, aunts, cousins, and extended family. Sebastian attended Caloocan High School in the Philippines and went on to earn his Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Feati University.

Sebastian married his forever love, Marilou Villalon Gojit in 1975. From that union, he became the proud father of four children: Christopher, Marie-Lindsay, Jed, and Genie-Maryanne.

After immigrating to California, Sebastian served in the United States Air Force from 1976-1980 stationed at Travis Air Force Base in the city of Fairfield, Bay Area. He was a lover of planes and anything mechanical which led him to employment soon after his discharge from the military with McDonnel Douglas Aircraft Company, now Boeing Company in Long Beach, California, one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. During his employment with Douglas Aircraft/Boeing from 1980-2015, Sebastian was known as a reliable, highly-skilled leader working as a senior aircraft mechanic on “The Ramp”. He always had an engineering brain, enjoying putting together and taking apart everything from the cars, to his 22-foot boat, to his grandson Prince’s toys and musical instruments. His children, family, and friends lovingly referred to him as their real-life “MacGyver” being a true handyman’s handyman. It was no surprise that “MacGyver” was one of his favorite TV shows in the 1980s. His work brought him to multiple countries around the world to repair and test aircrafts from Europe to Asia. The most recent project he worked on was the C-17 carrier aircrafts. Sebastian was instrumental in constructing and quality testing countless C-17s to be delivered to air force services around the globe with his ramp team who he also considered his family. Sebastian was nicknamed “Cisco” by his work family. “Cisco” attributed his success to hard work, dedication, attention to detail, quality, and a firm commitment to striving to be the best. Because of his compelling dedication, his achievement in quality assurance was honorably recognized by Boeing with a major quality award, the “Spirit of Quality” as part of the Cross Shaft Replacement Team in September 2012 which was a major career highlight for him before retiring in November 2015 after 35 years.

Sebastian enjoyed all sports: baseball, basketball, swimming, golfing, boating, sharp-shooting, and even gaming, as well as attending sporting events, among them his own children’s sports events: little league and high school baseball for Christopher and Jed, basketball and volleyball for Marie, and volleyball for Genie especially her exciting run as Big West Conference Champions with Cal State Fullerton in her senior year. Not to mention all the support and of course, building and using his engineering mind in Chris’ Long Beach Weightlifting Club gym, and rooting for and cheering Genie in her USAW weightlifting which he was so proud of them all for. Upon retirement, he found a new love for the sport of cycling long distances, his favorite weekend routes being Long Beach to Newport Beach and sometimes to Rancho Palos Verdes over the weekends. Music was always a mainstay for Sebastian in his daily life. As both him and his wife Marilou were now retirees, they enjoyed their Friday “date nights” at iDance Studios for beginners ballroom dancing, nicknamed “BBD”. The BBD group fast became close friends, enjoying each Friday night full of dancing tango and lots of pot luck dinners. They also performed for many events and parties. His active and healthy lifestyle also included a lot of golf play which he involved his son-in-law Cornelius and grandson Prince in frequently, even on the morning of the day he went in for emergency care over two weeks ago. He always cherished his family time and kept all of his kids involved in leading a healthy and active lifestyle. Sebastian displayed his nurturing spirit as a baseball coach for Christopher and Jed’s little league teams on the West Side of Long Beach in the 1980s when he was dubbed “Coach Buzz”. Sebastian was an avid Los Angeles sports fan especially rooting for his home teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, the Angels, and the Los Angeles Dodgers during their exciting 2017 World Series run which he kept up with even through his hospital stay. Above all, Sebastian’s favorite thing to do was spend time with his dear family, staying especially active and young with his grandson, Cornelius Prince Edwards II, who he lovingly and consistently volunteered to drive to all of Prince’s Hollywood auditions including filming for Prince’s national commercial, a TV show, and photoshoots for GAP, Next UK, and most recently Carter’s clothing. Prince gave Sebastian a newfound and exciting kind of “busy” to stay young and connected to his dear grandson who he was so proud of. In fact, you’ve probably already seen video of his grandson learning to put with Lolo or “Yoyo” as Prince called him, because Sebastian showed that video to everybody including any random person he came across at the golf course even the grocery store. Clearly, Sebastian was a doer and not always a talker. He let his actions and his life truly speak for itself which spoke volumes of his pure love for God’s gift of family, life, and friends. Sebastian’s most compelling action led him to enthusiastically give his life to God and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior just last month.

The Lord called His son, Sebastian Bato Francisco home on October 17, 2017. Sebastian is preceded in death by his father, Victor R. Francisco (1916-1987) and Feliciana Bato Francisco (1927-2015), as well as his youngest brother who passed away as a child, Francis Francisco, his father-in-law, Steve Gojit (1914-2007) and mother-in-law, Amparo Villalon Gojit (1916-1989). Sebastian leaves to cherish his memory: his beloved wife of 42 years, Marilou Gojit Francisco, his four children, Christopher G. Francisco, Marie-Lindsay Francisco Edwards (Cornelius P. Edwards I), Jed G. Francisco, and Genie-Maryanne G. Francisco, his siblings: Cecilia Francisco Santiago (late Julito), Rosario Francisco Poblete (Danilo); his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, plus a host of nephews and nieces; his grandchildren Cornelius Prince Edwards II and a new Edwards baby blessing in March 2018.

Arrangements under the direction of Stricklin/Snively, Long Beach, CA.