Mr. John: National flag carrier who impressed other people and inspired his own

Mr. John was a national flag carrier who planted Filipino greatness in other lands and in the minds of his people that yes, a poor promdi like him can.

We can tally the jobs his business created, the taxes paid, and the earnings it generated, but the inspiration he gave our young was the most important bottomline that was hard to quantify.

He now joins the stars he followed in sailing the wooden boat of his youth, guiding brave Filipinos who follow his example that for success to be achieved, one must leave the sight of shore.

He pushed the envelope and challenged convention in everything he did because this summa cum laude of the university of hard knocks believed that excellence can only be achieved by human talent pushed to the limit.

The result is that for those who patronize his brands, there is satisfaction to be enjoyed, and in each, a great story to be learned.

He started a phone company because he believed that the Filipino consumer has the right to unli choices.

He launched a Filipino airline because he believed that sky is the limit is for the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit.

He created his own coffee brand because he believed that the rich aroma of success can waft from one's own brew.

He never tired of selling food because for him, no business mission outranks the duty to feed the nation.

Everything about Mr. John was big--vision, dreams, kindness--yet he never tired of punching above his weight, and the obstacles he toppled paved the way for others.

But this taipan was also a colossus of generosity. Sans fanfare, he funded schools and scholarships, so that poverty will not interrupt schooling the way it did his. He spoke softly but wrote large checks.

For leaving the world better than you found it, daghang salamat, Mr. John.