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 Hector
“Mang Etoy” Del Rosario practically grew up within
the confines of a mortuary. That’s because he lived upstairs
from the family-owned La Funeraria Paz, one of the pioneers
and most enduring mortuary houses in the country today.
Now
89 years old, Mang Etoy is the 5th child of Petronilo Del
Rosario y Lim and Catalina Ortiz, the couple who founded La
Funeraria Paz on January 1, 1900. Appalled by the utter lack
of dignity in his mother’s burial, Mang Nilo resolved
to bring dignity and respect to one’s last moments here
on earth. Thus, La Funeraria Paz was born.
“It
was named Paz because it stood on Calle Paz in Manila, which
later became Calle Azcarraga. You now know it as C.M. Recto”,
recalls Mang Etoy, who at his age, still possesses a vivid
memory of his childhood.
La
Funeraria Paz started with a small building a few steps away
from where the present Recto branch stands. During its first
years, it operated in the shadows of another, much bigger
funeral house, which not surprisingly, people preferred. But
as people learned about the owner’s magnanimous character
and generosity, things began to look up for Paz.
“Some
people had no money and they would go to my father. Papa never
turned anyone away. He would give them the same excellent
service with or without payment”, Mang Etoy proudly narrates.
“Later on, people would come back to give him vegetables
and other goods as payment”.
From
then on, La Funeraria Paz started to grow. The small building
that housed one chapel grew bigger and added more chapels.
It also began to offer the services of motorized hearses imported
from the U.S.. Because of Mang Nilo’s good reputation
and sound business skills, there was no stopping the growth
of LA Funeraria Paz.
 Then
World War II broke out. Like most establishments in Manila,
La Funeraria Paz was reduced to rubbles. Undaunted , the Del
Rosario family went back to work right after the war. They
continued operations in a makeshift “barong-barong”
chapel on the same site. Applying the same formula of hard
work, dedication, and honesty, La Funeraria Paz recovered
in no time.
Its
stalled growth started to shoot up again with a new building
not far away from the original site, the very same building
in Recto today. Branches in other areas were opened, more
motorized hearses were brought in, and the excellent kind
of service got better and better.
 Today,
La Funeraria Paz is one of the biggest and most revered mortuaries
in the country. Amidst aggressive competition, it basks in
its reputation of being the mortuary that offers excellent
and dignified service. The very framework that its founders
- the Del Rosario family so painstakingly worked hard for,
and which its new owners - the Prudentialife Group and Pacific
Plans, Inc., uphold.
Mang
Etoy sums up the success of LA Funeraria Paz - “It was
never about money. Papa always said ‘basta areglado tayo,
ayos na’. And he went about giving the departed the dignity
and respect they deserve”.
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