Alan Wilson Case

Alan Wilson Case a.k.a "Opa", a.k.a. "Lolo" , adored by cats, dogs, creatures with and without fur, and above all, by children-passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 3, 2008. He was nearly 100 years old.

He was a resident of Santa Cruz since 1995 and is survived by his daughter and son-in-law Cristina Case-Gabbard and Jesse Case-Gabbard of Ben Lomond; grandson, Reuben Case-Gabbard, of Santa Cruz; and granddaughter, Sophia Case-Gabbard, now attending Reed College in Portland, Oregon; his sister Ethel Case Murphy, 98, of San Diego; and his brother, Charlebois Case, 96, of El Cajon, California. He leaves others as well-from nieces, nephews, in-laws and cousins to friends, and acquaintances who knew him only by his gentle and loving demeanor. He is preceded in death by his wife, Theresa Case, and two sons, John and Michael Case.

Alan was a longtime resident of San Francisco where he worked as a barber for forty years. He enjoyed cutting hair and loved his many, many clients. Alan, the son of an English father and a Filipina mother, was born in Manila in 1908. His youth was filled with adventures: on the family schooner, at the nets of fishing baclads, in the jungles of the southern islands panning for gold, or peacefully sitting in his father's begonia garden. The islands and the ever-present surrounding seas were always with him.

He was a swimmer nonpareil and represented the Philippines in the 1934 Far Eastern Olympics-swimming the freestyle mile. In his youth, he was, as well, a world traveler. He worked his way around the globe as a merchant seaman. When he returned to the Philippines it was to a Philippines occupied and besieged by war. He survived many harrowing adventures during the Japanese occupation and Second World War.

When the war ended, he immigrated to the United States with his wife, Theresa Renner Case. They landed in New York and traveled across the country to Southern California where they raised their family. During this period, Alan worked in the shipyards in Long Beach. In the early sixties, the family moved to San Francisco. Finally, as a widower, Alan moved to Santa Cruz. While in Santa Cruz he was a proud member of the Silver Dolphins, swimming at the Boys and Girls club until he was 96.

We remember his love of reading the SF Chronicle, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Philippine News while drinking a very strong brew of boiled coffee. Upon reading the news he often shook his head and remarked, "too much war, too much war".

Despite the horrors of his own experiences with war, with prejudice and hardships -- he held no resentments, no ill will. He was an energetic lover of life in all its variety and had endless curiosity that led him to wacky inventions and peculiar experiments. His gift to us is the smile we have on our face when we remember his warm compassion and kindness, his generosity, his fortitude in the presence of adversity and his implacable patience with the foibles of others.

Mahal Kita, Lolo.