Benjamin L. Corpuz's Obituary
Ben was born in Asingan, Pangasinan, Philippines and moved with his family to the city of Lakewood (Tacoma), Washington in 1983. He graduated as valedictorian in both elementary and high school. He pursued Journalism at the College of Philosophy and Letters, University of Santo Tomas in Manila. His first literary break was a Â"short-shortÂ" (HeÂ's Been Away Too Long) published in the Saturday Mirror Magazine in 1957. This was followed by several short stories in Pilipino, published in comic books, among them: Wakasan, Sweethearts, Romantic Klasiks and Pilipino Thriller. A novelette in Ilocano (Ti Kaikarianna Iti Datoy A Balay) was also published in Banawag, the largest nationally-circulated weekly in the vernacular. Recently, some of his favorite poems, i.e. Â"If YouÂ're Ever Going to Love MeÂ" (dedicated to his wife Â- Flory), were published in the U.S. collections of poems such as Â"Our WorldÂ's Most Treasured PoemsÂ" and Â"Great Poems of Our Time.Â"Ben enjoyed gardening, cooking for his family, attending Â"swap meetÂ" for exercise and writing poetry. He also treasured the friendship he formed since 1984 with his co-workers at Ft. Lewis, Washington. His wife Â- Flory, son Â- Ben Jr., daughters Â- Consuelo, Cecile and Cristy and four grandchildren Â- Andrew, Christina, Jasmin and Isaac, survive him. The Corpuz family gives special thanks to the staff and volunteers of Multicare Hospice of Tacoma, AAFES employees who donated sick-leave hours, and to all friends and families who gave and showed him love and support throughout his life.Viewing will be held at Mountain View Funeral Home and Memorial Park on Nov. 1st thru 3rd at 6pm to 8:30pm. Funeral services will be held at St. John Bosco Catholic Church (10508 112th St. SW) on Thursday, November 4 at 9:30am. In lieu of flowers, please make donations towards a cancer research organization of your choice.
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