Ernesto Esmeña Quijano

Ernesto Quijano was born in the barrio of Agdao in San Carlo City in the province of Pangasinan in the Philippines on November the 6th, 1950 to his parents, Domingo and Juana Quijano. He was known and addressed by family and friends as Erning or simply as Tatay, which means “dad” or “daddy” in Tagalog (the main language of the Philippines).

Erning was born as the second child to a family of 9 siblings. At the young age of 17, Erning went to Manila to work as a chocolate factory worker at Universal Robina Corporation (URC) where he worked for 40 years.

During his time working there, he also was later able to purchase a tricycle (which is a motorcycle that has a passenger cab for public transportation) and picked up extra income for the family through that. He also utilized that to take Josie, his wife, to and from work.

Erning had three children with Josie who he was married to for 43 years: Jenalyn, Erwin, and Eric. Jena gave him a granddaughter, Julia. Erwin gave him three grandchildren: Enzo, Ena, and Errol. And Eric gave him two grandchildren: Lance and Erica. His grandson Lance just recently gave him a great grandchild, Josiah, who was born shy of 7 months and passed on June 6th, 2021.

Erning was best known for his delightful sense of humor, his love for cooking and serving others, and his passion for working a garden or field because of his farming roots in Pangasinan. Those close to him also enjoyed his deep thought discussions about life issues and philosophical perspectives. He also was often seen as a diligent student of God’s Word where he would read through the Bible often to learn, understand, and process the Scriptures.

He led a beautiful life and leaves a legacy of love, selflessness, and sacrifice to the many friends and family that knew him.