Evelyn Romano Aldecoa was an unmistakable presence in the campus of Silliman.
As recalled by Silliman University President Dr. Ben Malayang III, Evelyn was one of those Silliman “campus kids” who grew up like the trees and shrubs, and later became the permanent fixtures of the University’s history, by giving back their gifts of talents.
In the 70s, the Order of Job’s Daughters, Bethel No. 3, Dumaguete City, was composed of members who were either children or wards of Masons who were faculty members or officers of Silliman.
So as honored Queen of the Job’s Daughters, I had the privilege of inducting the Aldecoa sisters — Jennylind and Evelyn, Jay Dawn Malayang, Marietta Utzurrum-Montebon and Susan Vista-Suarez. This is the reason why I always think of them as “our babies”.
The Job’s Daughters was considered a civic organization so we were allowed to exist during Martial Law. All campus organizations were abolished, as Silliman was considered a “hotbed” for the anti-Marcos movement.
It is said that when one is faced with trials in life, one can cope by going back to the happiest times in one’s journey. This the context where I place Evelyn.
When the Aldecoa sisters joined Job’s Daughters, they infected everyone with their musicality and spirituality. Hymns were sang in tune, part and parcel of our activities were the Silliman church services, where we sang or made special dedications.
Justice Venancio Aldecoa Jr., who later became SU President, and the late Nelly Abella Romano, became our surrogate Mom and Dad — this is the reason why I associate their home with food — they fed us every time we visited their home.
Evelyn was the moving force of our stint as Sing Out singers, along with the members of the Order of Demolay, Leon Kilat Chapter.
Together we sang songs like Dawning, Up, Up with People, complete with actions/choreography, and until now, I have this melody which is like an earworm that refuses to go away. I have kept these songs and memories in a special place in my heart.
I knew Evelyn before she became the director of Luce Auditorium, faculty member, and director of Broadway and Hollywood plays — but even then, she exuded leadership qualities which she made use of later in her life.
This is how I remember Evelyn: her smile, her perfect pitch, her diction, her guitar, and most of all as a Job’s Daughter, who later dedicated her life to caring for her parents.
As Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
