Margarito De La Rosa

Margarito de la Rosa Jr., 87, was born on September 2, 1925 in Manila, Philippines. He was the third child of Margarito Sr. and Felipa de la Rosa out of eight siblings.

Margarito, lovingly called as "Papa" by his wife Marta and two sons Joseph and Margarito III, he is also affectionally call by all his relatives as "Itoy", "Diko", and "Tiyoy".

With his humble beginnings in the Philippines, he experienced the torment of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II. After the war, he earned his living as a jeepney driver and eventually landed a job as a delivery and executive driver for the Ault and Wiborg Company. From there he met his wife, Marta, and got married on July 13, 1968. His wife Marta had a son, Danilo, before they met, but eventually took him as a son of his own.

His first son, Joseph, was born in 1969 and followed by his second son Margarito III in 1970. A third child, a daughter named Mary Angeline, was born premature in 1971. She eventually passed away two days later after her birth.

After 26 years of dedication to the company, Margarito retired in 1982. Years later, United States immigration petition papers by his eldest sister, Crisanta, was coming to fruition. In 1991 he and his wife and second son migrated to the United States and lived in the Los Angeles area.

Several years have passed and he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease which eventually affected his health and created other complications in his body. Margarito de la Rosa Jr. passed away peacefully on October 12, 2012 at 12:30am. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and two grandsons.

His remains rest at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, CA.