Tribute to the FRANCISCO "PAQUITO" MARTINEZ JR., the Author of the ZAMORAS Family Tree

Francisco “Paquito” Lacaya Martinez (Nov. 22, 1938 – June 29, 2013). Clan members addressed him as “Tío” (Spanish) or “Uncle” (English). Tío Paquito is the only son of the well known Francisco “Kikoy” Zamoras-Martinez and Jacoba Lacaya. Kikoy, his father, served as the treasurer of Pagadian in 1940, evaded the Japanese during the World War II and resumed his job in Pagadian  in 1952. During the World War II, while Kikoy went into hiding in Tambulig, he purchased large tracks of lands in Zamboanga del Sur and managed to cultivate them. Through these productive lands he cumulated so much wealth, built a “big house” in Dipolog and earned a social status. For some time Tío Paquito’s family enjoyed being in the wealthy echelon of Dipolog society as well as in Pagadian. With so much wealth, Paquito was described by his peers as having a life of a “prince” during his youth. He seemed to acquire a sociable disposition in life giving him interest and pleasure in meeting people. He graduated BS Civil Engineering but was unable to practice the profession.

Perhaps thru social exposures, he conceived of constructing the Zamoras Family Tree. As to which year did he start, that, I failed to ask him. Why did he focus on the Zamoras instead of the Martinez or the Lacayas? The answer could be, there were already more than a hundred Zamoras families in Dipolog who gathered yearly since 1928 (every Easter Sunday) for the clan reunion. His grandma Rufina Zamoras (daughter of Roman) likely gave him social involvements in those activities during his youth. Such experiences might have pushed him closer to the Zamoras Clan.

How did he construct the 5-generation family tree? He met people in ordinary meetings and casually discussed who’s who in the family tree. He attended parties and various activities and met the people he heard about and talked with them. He travelled to some places with this genealogy research in mind. He wrote letters to distant relatives mailed thru the post office to ask about updates of their respective family branches. I myself read his letters to his second-degree cousin Angelina Zamoras (Roman→Pedro→Ricardo→Angelina) in Bohol, and they had sensible discussions about the family tree, between intelligent persons. I could not imagine myself exerting that much effort to write letters, mailed thru the Post Office, then wait for 3 weeks for reply, and then write a reply which will take another 3 weeks to reach the other person.

For this generation, it is so very easy to communicate, but achieving Paquito’s work may still be challenging for any of us. This kind of work demands so much time, going to places, attending parties and requires huge amount of patience. Five years ago, acknowledging the fact that Tío Paquito was turning 70 already, I attempted to invade his genealogic realm and studied his “Big Tree” which he cultivated for quite a while. He proudly shared with me his valued records. I photocopied his drafts and stored them in my archives as duplicates. I could recall the surge of enthusiasm in his face while he was recalling names after names. I was so honoured to be shared with those documents. However I realized that I lacked time to follow his footsteps because I had a job to prioritize. Perhaps I also lacked patience and efforts in dealing with people who do not appreciate this kind of thing. Or perhaps I did not have the authority that Tío Paquito had in discussing such matters. In short, this work is not easy at all. Since Tío Paquito was self-employed, he had enough time to spare on this family tree research. No other person could have given enough time to this unfunded and non-profit research other than him. We owe him so much the Zamoras Family tree that otherwise would not have been conceived at all. I think this big family tree should be shared to all clan members who are interested so that his work will be immortalized. It is thru this blog that I can share the information he imparted to me or to some of us.

Tío Paquito enjoyed life for 74 years, married to Lydia Renion and had 5 children, Walter (RIP), Warren, John, Laverna (Ging) and Paul. His family wealth slowly dwindled year after year around the 1970s, for some reasons that we know (long story). His children had their respective families already; Paul settled in the US as physical therapist. His wife Lydia passed away 5 years ago making his senior life even more challenging. But it did not wane down his enthusiasm on his “Big Tree”. His daughter Ging told me that in his last few weeks, conversations mentioning the Family Tree energized his mood and stimulated his memory as if he had no ailment at all. So bad I missed to chat with him once more. His last health problem was a liver infection caused by dialysis. He died at the National Kidney Institute on June 29, 2013. His body was cremated and his urn is laid at the St. Peter Columbary, St. Peter Parish, Commonwealth, Quezon City.

Rest in peace Tío…