A Tribute to Socorro Alejandro
05 Mar 2014
Socorro "Corit" Alviola Alejandro moved to her heavenly Father's house last February 15, 2014 at the age of 80. She was the founder of Papemelroti gift shops.
She was born January 12, 1934 in Cebu City, went to San Carlos High School, and graduated with an Architectural degree from Cebu Institute of Technology.
Socorro Alejandro in her 20's
Corit married Benny Alejandro (of Procter and Gamble) and they reared five children - Patsy (married to Luigi Paterno), Peggy (widow of Jing Pilapil and married to Charlie Lasa), Meldy (married to Lito Fider), Robert and Tina.
Early days in Cebu with her sister
Active in Women for Christ fellowship, Corit enjoyed many hobbies like sewing, gardening, drawing and making miniatures.
She will be sorely missed by her grandchildren, Carlo, Elyse, Chris, Mark, Joshua and Isabel.
To celebrate the beauty of her life, we are sharing some of the family's honorings here.
Honorings
One of the best compliments I can ever get is for someone to say I look like mommy.
Even if it is just her eyebrows that's good enough for me. Anyone can see she is a beautiful woman. But outward beauty is fleeting and mommy knew this. That is why she lived her life as a Proverbs 31 wife and mother.
Mommy was a good woman , hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.
Daddy trusted her without reserve,
and never had reason to regret it.
she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best products and bargains
and enjoys making wreaths handicrafts and sewing.
She's like a trading ship that goes to places like Divisoria, Baguio, Laguna
and brings back products for the shops.
She's up before dawn to attend daily mass
And organized her day with work, exercise,
daily prayer and scripture study at 6 PM and some computer solitaire in the afternoon.
She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she's put aside and with the help of financing
builds a building for papemelroti.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for mass then work
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking and business.
She's quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn't worry about her family needs
She has always saved for a rainy day.
She reconstructs her clothing to give it an unusual twist.
and dresses in unusual styles.
Her husband is greatly respected and at the age of 87 still busy with his projects and some sailing on the side.
She designs domes wreaths and miniature frames for selling at our shops.
Her clothes are elegant but very affordable. You will not find her in name brand stores.
she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she spent Sunday mornings with students interviewing her abt the business and
She would take this opportunity to speak to them about the gospel and Gods Word.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, our households, the office, the factory and all the branches.
and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:
Many women have done wonderful things,
but you've outclassed them all mommy!
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!
Thank you mommy for giving us a life so exceedingly blessed. For being an example of a servant of God. Living according to His ways and His every Word. Put God first above all else, serve our families with gladness and work diligently with excellence. Thank you for the heritage of faithfulness our families will benefit from.
We rejoice knowing you are free from all tears, sickness and temptation and enjoying the eternal reward In Jesus. Till we meet again mommy. I will miss you dearly but will keep you in my heart always. Love you mommy.
- by Meldy Alejandro Fider, daughter
- by Meldy Alejandro Fider, daughter
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Socorro with her youngest daughter Christina
At the first Papemelroti branch with her children
My mom's name "Socorro" is from Perpetual Succor, which also means "perpetual help". In looking at her life, I could see how she has been a help to our family and to so many in a multitude of ways. To illustrate this, let me share some stories about her.
During the war, my mom was still very young and one day, enemy forces started ransacking homes, killing people, terrorizing the whole village.
My mom's oldest sister, who was a young woman was cooking in one room. A soldier, seeing her, went inside the room and shut the door behind him. My Lola (Grandmother) seeing the danger that was about to happen to her eldest daughter looked up at the heavens and went inside the room.
My mom told me that she saw all this and felt that my Lola was willing to die at that time in saving her daughter from the soldier. My mom followed my Lola inside and saw that the bayonet was already at my Lola's stomach.
At that moment, my mom let out a loud scream. The soldier paused and looked at the little girl (who was my mom) and let out a sigh of exasperation and left. My mom saved the day.
Even when she was still so small, she helped save the life of her mother and sister.
I have learned from my mother that one can always do something, one can always help, even when all seems hopeless.
One time a friend of mine came to me for help. She was in a desperate financial need. She had a lot of children and no source of income. I didn't know how to help her. I told my mom and she said for me not to worry but instead, develop a product she can sell in the store. That's what we did and she had one of the best selling product lines and is now doing very well with her family.
My mom helped a lot of people this way and we would just find out later on when these people would come forward to thank her for it. My mom inspired me to be someone who helps others too in whatever way I possibly can.
One of the things I deeply admire about my mom is that she is a strong woman. She is someone who is set apart from the crowd.
One time the city mayor had a meeting with all the business people. The mayor said something to the effect that they know all business people don't pay the correct taxes. My mom stood up in that big crowd and said that she does. Not to judge anyone but she just had to say something - that not everyone cheats.
There were countless times that we would reason with people who were trying to bribe us. It was an opportunity for my mom to witness to them about how fleeting life is saying "our life is only a blink of an eye compared to eternity".
My mom taught us to put God first, not just through her words but through her life. When I was still in grade school she would bring the whole family to prayer meetings and I learned how to worship God at a young age, to have Him as my best friend. Even when I didn't want to go, she would bring me just the same and for that I really thank you Mom.
She was always a help to me. I remember that as a child, I was in and out of the hospital because I had asthma. My mom would be by my side every single time. But one day, she prayed for me powerfully and her faith healed me. After that there was no asthma anymore.
My mom loved the bible. Early on, my brother and I would always fight like cats and dogs. We were constantly trying to find ways to torture the other. My mom sat us down and read a passage - if you don't love your brother who you see, how can love a God you don't see? God's words pierced through my heart and my brother is now one of my best friends along with my whole family.
When the family was in hard times, my Mom would gather us all in a circle, hold hands and pray. We would always get an answer. I have witnessed many miracles in our family life. God has been so present to us because of the way my Mom and my Dad have raised us up. The saying that when there is great love, there are always miracles is very true in our family.
When my Mom was very young, my Lolo (Grandfather) told her that she was the sunshine in their home. She is also sunshine to me and I'm sure she will shine down upon us, all the love and the prayers that she has always done.
Thank you Mommy for your example, for always the first one to reconcile, to say sorry. Thank you for always telling me everything, even the heart- breaking things, for sharing everything with me. Thank you for helping so many people, not just the people we work with but also the countless others who have been touched by the things they buy from the shop, the people who write back to me how they have felt God's love just from something they read in the store.
Thank you that in the last days you would still find a way to show me that you love me, holding my face, gripping my hand so tightly, showing me that your love is stronger even then any illness or even your death. I know your love lives on even now, in heaven and in our hearts. I will miss you every single day. I love you.
- by Christina Alejandro, daughter
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When I think of Lola, one word comes to mind - love. Lola Corit was an incredibly loving person.
First, she loved her work. The fruits of her hardwork is evident in the family business "Papemelroti". When I say family business, I also mean that in the sense that even the people she had worked with became like family. I had grown up knowing some of the employees since I was a little boy and korben had become my gigantic playground.
Second, she loved her family. As her grandchild, I will always cherish the memories we had when we would go to "pasyal" on Mondays and go on family trips to Fuego.
She would always make sure that we knew how much she had loved us and made sure we were well taken cared of. I would always remember how she would treat Josh and I to Pokemon cards and our favorite sweets.
But above all, she loved God. Lola was a true example of what a servant of God should be and her life was a testament of her faith. She showed us what it meant to be a faithful child of God and to love Him with all our heart.
Lola is my role model and I think the greatest, most precious lesson she taught me through her life is how to love. I miss you, Lola! I love you!
- Mark Fider, grandson
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