Francisco F. Nimis, Jr.
22 January 1934 – 06 January 2015
My daddy lived a challenged life. He had fought for a good life and won.
His was not a life served on a silver platter. His was a life of hard work.
His was a life well lived and loved.
My daddy was a man of values and principles. More than anything, I would say his values helped form us, his children, and those who got the chance to work with him. As I looked back on what my daddy was to me, these were the things that stood out. Things that I would forever be grateful to him, and to the Lord for giving us a good father, a good provider and a good role model.
* Value of Education *
He had always talked about working for his education. That he started from the bottom doing the most menial of jobs, becoming a varsity player just to get a scholarship for his degree and support himself. When we would pass by a familiar place, he would point out to me that he used to live there and had to help out with the household chores since he could not pay for his board and lodging fees from time to time. He would point out places where he used to work doing odd jobs as needed. And his perseverance paid off as he graduated with a degree of B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of San Carlos in 1959.
He valued education so much that he endured being away from us just so we get to attend good schools. Even if it meant having to be away from us. Even if it meant we hardly saw him during our growing years. Even if it meant scrimping on himself just so he can send us money for our tuition and allowance. Even if he had to do odd jobs like manually rewinding motors just for that added cash.
I am pretty sure though that he was so proud of us having once quipped “‘matay, nalapsan na man ninyo tanan nako nga na achieve, day.”
Leading up to his last days, he was still eager to learn. He would often ask me to teach about what i am working on so it would go:
Dad: Day, unsa imong project karon ? (What is your project about?)
Me: Cloud computing ako project karon dy. ( My project is about cloud computing, Dy).
Dad: Unsa na day? (What is it about? )
and then would start the endless questions because he always wanted to know the very basic principle upon which something was based on.
Dad was like that. Life for him was a process of learning. Learning about how things work. Learning about life.
* Value of Hard Work and Team work *
His struggle to fend off for himself though taught him the value of hard work, the value of persevering against all odds. This was something that had rubbed off on all of us, his children.
I remember when we were still kids and there would be trouble at the power plant that he was in-charge of. On top of being away for hours until the trouble is resolved, often doing the task himself if need be but never failing to teach his team so they will also learn.
He would buy pancit (noodles) and bread for his team. In my innocence then, I always thought why would he do that when these people were just doing their job? Only now do I realize the wisdom of his management and working style – that you have to treat your team like family, that you need to take care of their needs so they can concentrate on their work. We often also had parties where his team would be invited and they would be treated with as much importance as VIPs. the same is true for his folks from Danao Paper Mill. They would get invited to our fiesta salo-salo and he would worry if they would not be able to come and when they do, he would be so happy to entertain them himself.
He never shrank from hard work. he also always tried to teach how to do things properly. This was not something that was always welcome though but he always meant well. he would often say though that ” Sentido common is not so common after all” but he would continue on teaching, hoping that the lesson he was teaching would improve the other party.
He never treated his team members as inferior to him. He treated them equally, never calling him his “tao” but always, his team.
* Value of Faith and a Questioning mind *
My dad was a wide reader. he would read anything and everything. He loved books and going to bookstores and usually had a book or two in hand when we eventually leave. He would read up on the natural order of things, explored the possibility of alien life having visited the earth, pranic and other natural methods of healing. This is on top of being a logical thinker who always referred back to science and engineering when faced with a question or a mystery. But despite all of these, i never once heard him question God’s existence. He often would say – “ngiga ni Lord, no? (The Lord is just amazing, right?)” when referring to nature’s wonders and secrets.
One memory though that would always stay with me would be when he was out of work and we had to rely on selling viands just so we would have something to eat. After preparing and cooking the food, Nestor (my brother), me and Daddy would hold hands and pray that God wills it that what we would sell out so we would have enough profit to get us through another day. He believed in the power of prayer and that if 2 or more of you pray for something at the same time, God simply cannot refuse. Most of the time, it ended in our favor. But even if there is leftover, he would simply say, “maayo, naa ta makaon (It is a good thing so we have food for supper)”.
That is how dad is, full of prayer and faith in our God.
* Value of Living *
Daddy was someone who grabbed what life had to offer. He loved food although inadvertently, as a creature of habit, he would end up craving for sashimi, lechon, kinilaw. He was also naturally malambing especially when i come home and his usual welcome is – “naa ka something, day? :)”
He loved to travel and wanted to experience different cultures, see different sights. As of today, he still is top-notch within our family, in terms of number of countries visited, all thanks to company sponsored business trips.
He once mentioned that if he wanted to, he could have migrated to the US and worked and lived there. But he preferred to be a first class citizen in his own country and be able to contribute to his own country. I had always thought he let a good opportunity pass but after having had the chance to travel and work outside, his decision was not so foolish after all.
He took on jobs in Indonesia out of necessity but he always chose to go back home.
*Value of generosity and gratitude *
in our time difficulty, i had always questioned where are the people that dad had helped with their problems. he had a simple answer – ” it is not always the person who helped who will be around to help you. ang importante, ikaw motabang kesa ikaw tabangan (the important thing is that you are the one helping out instead of the other way around).”
so that is how my dad was. he would find ways to help people in need, even if he himself needed some helping hand.
He would often thank me for the most trivial of things – helping him fix his shirt, getting him some food from the buffet, ordering for him. He never took things for granted and always wanted to give back when he can.
His last birthday gift for me was a gold necklace which he himself purchased at the nearby mall. He walked all the way to the mall (with my cousin in tow) even if it meant gasping for air every 100 meters or so, even if it ended with him being too tired from the entire exercise. Simply because he wanted to give me a gift as a token of his love and gratitude.
And that is how my dad lived his life. and we, his children are proudest of what a great father he has been to us. We strive to make him proud to be a Nimis. As he once said, it is up to you to make your name great and so we shall do just that.
Last january 1, after attending mass, I had a meaningful conversation with dad about death.
He had heard that a friend has just passed on. He said ” Happy new year man ta but sad gihapon kay namatay na man ako migo.” I said, “Di ba we should be happy for him kay he is now free of pain and suffering? “. My dad then said “Yes, you are right. It is always hardest for those who are left behind. But we need to learn to let go, no matter how difficult it is.”
Letting go though does not mean forgetting. Letting go means acceptance that while he is no longer with us, he would always be in our hearts.
A dear friend shared this quote by Frederick Buechner:
“When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart…..For as long as you remember me, I am never entirely lost.”
we love you dad and you will always be in our hearts.
my take 