Jack Lee Liban

Our dear Jack Liban was born on January 4, 1934 in Seattle, Washington to Maria Soccoro Lumicao and Pedro Velasco Liban. Jack’s and his parents are descendant of the noble Gaddangs, an indigenous Filipino tribe from Nueva Viscaya in the Northern Philippines. His parents, Pedro and Maria were fluent Gaddang dialect. Jack has five siblings: two of whom are still here with us today: Harold and Connie. His other three siblings Betty, Rudy and Alfredo are also ancestors. He was the second to the oldest, Harold being the first child. Jack and his siblings are all second-generation Filipino Americans. That means they were born in the United States and their parents, Maria and Pedro were first generation Filipino American born in Nueva Viscaya, Philippines. 

Jack married Ophelia (Nita) Macute Echavez in 1959 and had two children: Greg and Jackie. He was a proud grandfather to: me, Jasmine, Ashley, Brianne and Joshua. He had 6 great grandchildren: Francisco, Miliana, Maru, Isaiah, Saint, and one on the way baby Alia. His family has known him to be a very loving, kind and friendly man who had a heart as big as the world. 

As a child, Jack was surrounded by family who held strongly to their Filipino cultural heritage, love for music, and religion. These two factors helped them to access resilience in the face of oppression and forced assimilation to life in America. Early in his life, Jack and his family moved from Seattle and travelled by train on the Pullman train to San Francisco, where he and his siblings were raised. Jack and his family lived in a few different apartment flats until his parents were able to buy a house in 1952 at infamous 1440 Shafter in the Bay View in San Francisco. Jack, Connie, Harold, Rudy and Betty lived in a house full of Filipino culture. Great grandpa Pedro, his dad was an amazing cook and seemed to always have family visiting their house. His mother, Maria was a an avid fisherwoman. 

During early childhood Jack and his siblings were placed foster care for a few years, because his mother Maria had tuberculosis. The separation was not easy, but he and his siblings were very courageous and resilient, and after Maria’s health improved, she and Pedro were able to live together again with their children. 

As a teenager, Jack was active in school sports, played many different musical instruments (like the piano and trumpet), and of course was known for his beautiful singing voice. His musical gift and singing talents would follow him throughout his life. 

From 1952 to 1959 Jack served in the United States airforce during the Korean war. But his longterm career was working for the banking industry for over 37 years with places like: the Bank of California and International Banking. During his career he traveled to New York, Los Angeles and London. After retirement he chose to work at See’s Candies in South San Francisco. Which, out of all of his jobs was his favorite. His family approved of this as they reaped the benefits of weekly boxes chocolate truffles and rocky during the holidays! 

Outside of his professional life, he truly loved to sing and perform. One of his most well known performances was when he played the role of an uncle in a theatrical re-production “The Flower Drum Song” in San Mateo. 

Jack met Nita in 1959 in San Francisco at the Filipino United Methodist Church. Together they settled in Daly City, CA where they raised their children Greg and Jackie. They were  married for 63 years. Jack and Nita loved to travel: in their time together they travelled to places like the Philippines, Mexico, China, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Canada. Jack loved roadtrips and he loved to drive. When Greg and Jackie were kids, on weekends he and Nita would frequently take roadtrips. Jack would always be behind the wheel ready for adventures with his family.