A Tiger Is Born
Vicente Redondo Rodriguez III was born on March 22, 1950 to Vicente Rodriguez, Jr. and Socorro Redondo de Rodriguez, in Naga City, Philippines.
He was a first son, born during the year of the Golden Tiger, with the sun in Aries, and under the shadow of the Bicol Province's legendary and explosive Mayon Volcano. Thus, right from the beginning, Vicente was fated to be a courageous, intelligent leader, with a stubborn streak, a generous heart, a charming smile, and a restless spirit. Anyone who met him-- as an ambitious young man, an unswerving Navy Chief, a devoted husband and father, an intractable Democrat, and/ or as an imaginative and inspirational community member-- knows that, throughout his life, he fulfilled this destiny to a tee.
He was a first son, born during the year of the Golden Tiger, with the sun in Aries, and under the shadow of the Bicol Province's legendary and explosive Mayon Volcano. Thus, right from the beginning, Vicente was fated to be a courageous, intelligent leader, with a stubborn streak, a generous heart, a charming smile, and a restless spirit. Anyone who met him-- as an ambitious young man, an unswerving Navy Chief, a devoted husband and father, an intractable Democrat, and/ or as an imaginative and inspirational community member-- knows that, throughout his life, he fulfilled this destiny to a tee.
An Enduring Tragedy
By 1956, Dad had become a precocious favorite son, and a kuya (big brother) to two younger brothers, Julio and Philipp, and a sister, Sevilla. But, in 1957, tragedy struck the Rodriguez family: Socorro Rodriguez passed away at only 36 years of age, leaving him and his three younger siblings, without a mother. Our Dad never really recovered from this loss, nor from his father's subsequent marriage to the woman who uprooted the family, by convincing our grandfather to move their home from Naga.
A Tale of Perseverance
In spite of this, Vicente persevered, by dreaming big, excelling in all he set out to do, and by staying committed, passionate, and good-hearted toward everything and everyone he believed in.
By age 25, he had earned a degree in Marine Engineering from Mariners' Polytechnic College in Naga, made it into a group of ten Philippine nationals (out of 150!) invited to test into the US Navy, became a US citizen, met the love of his life, Editha Camposano Ibatan; then started a family with her in Honolulu, with the birth of their first daughter, Evelyn. Their family was made complete with the birth of their youngest daughter, Vicky, in Long Beach, three years later.
By age 25, he had earned a degree in Marine Engineering from Mariners' Polytechnic College in Naga, made it into a group of ten Philippine nationals (out of 150!) invited to test into the US Navy, became a US citizen, met the love of his life, Editha Camposano Ibatan; then started a family with her in Honolulu, with the birth of their first daughter, Evelyn. Their family was made complete with the birth of their youngest daughter, Vicky, in Long Beach, three years later.