Here is an article by F.R. Braid in tribute to Tatay Rando.

My sister Lydia; Rando R. Clemente
By Florangel Rosario Braid

LYDIA was our "bunso" — the third among us sisters of which I am the oldest. She passed away last June 15 in Sparks, Nevada at age 70, after a lingering illness. We (my sister Lynn Alberto and I) were scheduled to visit her later this month but had to advance our travel after a call came saying she had passed on. I felt a sense of guilt for not having been able to visit her earlier. There were of course monthly telephone calls which was a poor substitute for physical presence.

Anyway, we arrived in time for the wake and funeral service where we met all her six children and 10 grandchildren who came from all over nearby states, friends and members of the Filipino community. It was a meaningful memorial service — brief and moving, as the children recalled the legacy of their mom. Lydia did not go through much academic experience but she had innate intelligence and a great deal of insight. She shared her talents in fortune-telling and cooking with friends and neighbors, says her son who likened her to Lydia of the Bible, a dealer in purple cloth and one of the early converts of Paul. Anecdotes were shared about how she had touched people around her. Two sons played the guitar and sang her favorite songs. Despite the sadness, we felt inspired at the sight of her children and their children who had successfully responded to challenges in their new environment with hard work, patience, and sacrifice. They have lived in the US for more than two decades now. We saw that kind of achievement orientation we have heard about children of the migrant Fil-Ams among their children and those of Dindo, Lynn’s eldest, who tackled demands of schooling and part-time work with energetic response and remarkable achievement orientation. Dindo works for the Hyatt hotel chain in LA. Our six-day visit ended in Monrovia where Joy, Lynn’s daughter and a former Toyota Philippines executive, lives with her hubby. Only last April, the entire Alberto clan had flown in from Manila for her wedding in Los Angeles.

Since we both have husbands who are not in the best of health, we are always in a hurry to return home. Upon arrival, we learned that two days earlier, Lynn’s son-in law, Rando Clemente died, following a heart attack while doing his regular treadmill exercise. Rando was 45. During the several wakes and tributes for Rando given by classmates and friends from La Salle (where he was member of Kundirana) and UP, we learned about the regard many people have for him — that he indeed is a most caring, thoughtful friend. We knew this as we were part of his extended family but what we did not know was that he spent quality time with out-of-school children in Barangay Blue Ridge using the medium of guitar music. Despite his heavy work load (he is an ICT entrepreneur and from what I gathered from his colleagues, one of the two most competent "outsourcing specialists"), he gave priority to the needs of his wife, Mayette and family. Now we understand why Rando was a man in a hurry. He wanted to compress all the tasks he needed to do in such a short time.

Learning about all that was said about him, I am sure he died because he had overextended himself. His heart, a big one as it had so much compassion for others, may have given up. Rando, we say goodbye for now. We shall miss your guitar playing — your duets with Mayette, your laughter, and zest for life. To the three children — Geline, Buboy, and Carlo, Mayette, Kumpare Sixto and Rando’s sisters and brothers, may this quote from Tagore inspire you: "For those of us who believe, death is not the dying of the light. It is the lamp of life turned off at the coming of the dawn."

My e-mail is florbraid@yahoo.com