SACRAMENTO MAHARLIKA LIONS CLUB

Full text of PCC Derek Leda's Eulogy:

             BERT’S CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Good morning. My name is Derek Ledda.  I’m a member of Bert’s Lions club, the Maharlika Lions.  On behalf of Julie, Mike and Mary, I welcome and thank all of you for being here this morning to celebrate Bert’s life and give a measure of comfort to Julie and her family with your prayers, love and caring words.

I think everyone knows that for Bert, the four things he loved most were his family, his faith, the special fun and fellowship he shared with his friends, old and new, and trying his best to make life a whole lot better for people who were really desperate for help.  And those things that meant so much to him, he would experience with the kind of passion, dedication and boundless joy that set him apart from most people.  Bert liked to do things in a big way with big goals that came with even bigger challenges that by his hard work and strength of will he was always able to overcome on his way to achieving success.  I’m sure every one of you has your own fond memory of Bert that reflects how I’ve described him. His brother Manny remembers him from his days as a bigger than life high school celebrity who was the first in his class to drive, toured with his rock and roll band in Japan, was a three-sport star athlete and was admired and respected by all his peers.  My fondest memories of Bert involve the Maharlika Lions medical missions we went on together to Davao in the Philippines. The missions were the projects Bert absolutely loved the most and he always played a critical role in making them successful.  Even this year, when he was already ill he gave all that he had left in him to support the mission to Davao and Cebu. Bert was truly in his element doing God’s work in serving thousands of needy people always with his forever partner in love and service Julie by his side and in the company of his mission family of Maharlika and Mt. Apo Lions with whom he shared a uniquely close bond.  I know that a few of the missions were all the more special to Bert because Julie and their children Mary and Mike and Mike’s family Julie, Rebecca, Christian and Alex who were the apples of their grandpa’s eye, and even Tita Vet were able to join to make it a truly Melliza family affair.

For 43 years until the end of his life, the man who loved to help people lived out his dream as a Lion in service, first as a member of the Mabuhay Lions Club and starting in 1993 as the charter president of the Maharlika Lions, who he considered his brothers and sisters in service.  On any given weekend, you might see Lion Bert relishing his time spent with the visiting international youth exchange students from Japan and Europe for whom he was responsible as California’s statewide Lions youth exchange chairperson or sitting at a table with Julie helping to register runners at the My Sisters House Annual Fun Run Walk to help victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. There was never a service project he was not excited to join or a difficult project he was reluctant to lead.  Leadership came naturally to Bert. He led with a sense of purpose, confidence and commitment to excellence.  His fellow Lions recognized those qualities in him which is why they elected him in 1996 to the highest Lion office in our District 4-C5, the position of District Governor, which also made him the first Filipino-American to hold the title in our District and one of the first in all of California. Along the way, he was recognized for his service and leadership with numerous well deserved club, District and international awards, including “Lion of the Year” and the prestigious Melvin Jones Fellowship which he received 6 times.  In 2010, the Philippine National Day Association conferred on Bert the title of “Lakandiwa” which refers to the noble essence of a leader whose outstanding positive example and contributions to the community are to be honored and emulated.  That title suited Bert well.

I’m guessing though that when all of you think about Bert, what you’ll most remember are the fun times you had with him.  Bert was at his best sharing a smile and a good laugh, socializing over a game of poker, a round of golf, Maharlika’s caroling practices and of course eating and then eating some more.  And did I mention eating? Bert loved to eat. I think Julie learned pretty quickly that one key to Bert’s heart was through his stomach which is maybe why Julie is such a great cook. In the last several months of Bert’s life, while he was also going through his cancer treatments, he, Julie and I along with other friends and family had the very great pleasure of eating with Bert at some of the top restaurants around Sacramento, Teppanyaki at Tokyo Steak House, spicy seafood at Asian Cajun, Gen Korean BBQ, Seasons 52, Kru for upscale Japanese cuisine, a Brazilian steakhouse called Fogo de Minas and a bunch of others. But about a week before he passed on, I asked Bert what food he wanted me to bring him and he was back to basics asking for the fried pork belly and Filipino beef stew from a little Mom and Pop carry out in Natomas called Fil-Am.  That was Bert. He enjoyed an adventure but loved the basics, his family, his faith, the company of good friends and a chance to help others.  After hearing about Bert’s passing, Perry Diaz reflected on his 45 year long friendship with Bert and how their lives and the lives of their families had intertwined.  He was reminded of an old adage that “the loss of a friend is like that of a limb.  Time may heal the anguish of the wound but the loss cannot be repaired.”  Bert was a part of all of us and we will all miss him. Please pray for him, Julie and their family and continue to keep Bert alive in your fondest memories of him.

God bless you and keep you safe.