A Journey With Purpose

Below is the text of my eulogy to my dear friend Joey Macadangdang.

It feels weird standing here, to speak about Joey Macadangdang.We have a few more friends also named Joey so in our part we end up calling him Joey Mac.

I first met Joey Mac back in Singapore. By that time, He is no longer alone/available. Joey and Tess, like a velcro always stuck with each other. . . you cant see one without the other. Because of that, my knowledge of Him is in the context of Joey and Tess.

They are approachable, fun to be with, have a great sense of humour and they can take jokes. Because of that I have no problem befriending them. We even become flatmates in Singapore along with Jim and Rallie.

Every Sunday we have a routine in front of the TV. Not of watching sports game while eating pizza but. . .of watching TV while ironing our long sleeves for the coming work week.

Everyone. . .except. . .JoeyMac, because. . . He has Tess to do it for him. At some point JoeyMac did try to do it himself but he gave up after 2 weeks.

We the bachelor guys also learned to cook edible food (we were not yet accustomed to the spicy food over there) but not Joey. 

Again he has Tess to cook for him every day. . . lucky bastard. In His defence he did share with us whatever extra they have.

During that period I’ve observed first hand His devotion to Tess. Always thinking of Tess well being and comfort especially when she was pregnant with Jem.

I did get to spend a few months with Joey all to myself when we first arrive here in Toronto. Our few exciting moments were:
to look for a piece of glass lens that fell out from His eyeglass, in freshly fallen snow, at night time. This was when the then Mayor Lastman called the army to help out Toronto for snow removal. . .
Another time was when JoeyMac, having just acquired his driving license and car, stopped in the middle of DVP at the fork of the ramp to 401 east and west, unable to get back into the flow of traffic. When we finally went to a gas station we realize that we both don’t know how to fill up the gas tank. . . But all through this period, one thing is in His mind. Everything should be ready by the time Tess and Jem arrives in Toronto.

When each of us started to settle down, our get together become far & few due to distance and other obligation. One thing remains with Joey, His Family is His priority. Every project, every activity, and every endeavour he does would be in the context of His family. And when I say Family, his definition is not only of Wife and Kids but also included His parents and In-Laws. I’m not privy to every detail but if you talk to both set of parents you will know that this is true.

JoeyMacs devotion to his family kept his schedule busy but in his small ways contributed to making sure that his friends stays connected to him. Once in a while we would definitely receive phone calls from him to say hello and to ask how’s things on my side and would invite and ask us to drop by their place. Those calls have been missing in my life for quite some time now.

In the book ‘A Purpose driven Life’ a revise verse of Proverbs 11:28 goes like this:       “A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; A God-shaped life is a flourishing tree”.

I believe a responsible man will always think what his purpose is. One may not realize a clear answer to this but a good man will always strive to do his best and to do his best for the sake not only to himself but also for his love one. In my heart I know that this true of Joey.

Joey Mac, ‘You have lived a good Life. You have Touched Lives, Thank You. Goodnight’.