Roberto Francisco de la Paz

Roberto de la Paz, beloved husband, father, and brother died peacefully at home in San Francisco on Saturday, August 24, 2024. He was surrounded by family and loved ones.
Roberto was born on March 28, 1947 in Pasig, Rizal, Philippines to Emiliano Morada de la Paz and Josefina Villaluz Francisco. He was the youngest of five children: Jose (predeceased), Erlinda, Carolina, Emil Jr, and finally Roberto whom they dearly called ‘Totoy.’ He had play-mates as a child. But Totoy loved being by himself, walking alone in the woods, and watching nature. He attended college at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City and majored in Economics. He received an award for being the Top Salesperson from his employer Caliraya Resort. During a company Christmas Party in December 1977, his friend and co-worker Jethro set him up on a blind date. That is how he met his future wife Terry. He worked at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in the Administration Office up until he left for the United States. In 1980, he immigrated to the United States following his parents and three of his siblings in New York. After a year living there, he moved to San Francisco to be with his friends who called him Bert. In 1982 he married Maria Teresa aka ‘Terry’ Vito Fernandez in a civil wedding in 1982 and then a Catholic wedding at St. Patrick’s Church in San Francisco in 1984. They have two children, Noelle and Marcus.
He worked for Union Bank in San Francisco, San Bruno, and Oakland branches in the early 1980’s. Around this time, he begun to contemplate on how he can improve his earnings to support his growing family. He begun to look for better paying jobs. In the mid 1980’s he applied with BART for a temporary position and at the United States Postal Service (USPS) for a permanent fulltime position. He chose the latter for better opportunities and job security. His co-workers knew him as Robert. He signed up as a Shop Steward and successfully helped coworkers resolve their job issues. He had friends at work he would go out with for breakfast after their shift ended at 7:00 A.M. They planned and organized their Christmas parties, too. Never to shy away from his responsibilities, he was always thinking of how he can take better care of his young family. To have a bigger paycheck, he decided to transfer from the day shift to the night shift until his retirement. After working for the US Postal Service for 25 years, he retired in 2011.
Roberto was a loving and dedicated husband and father. He is survived by his wife and two children together with one brother and two sisters and their families, and nieces and nephews.
A wake and rosary will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2024 from 4-9pm in the Cypress Lawn Tiffinay Chapel, followed the next day by a 10 am funeral mass at Corpus Christi Church and burial at Cypress Lawn.