Rheno Ghent, 36

This past week was not very good for me for it started with the sad news that I lost a friend, Rheno Ghent, to a heart attack. He was only 36. For some reason, he wanted to be called Ghent. And that's what he was, a fine gent.

I've been trying to remember the exact moment when I first met him, but that moment escapes me now. It could probably be because Ghent's smile and charm gave anybody the feeling that you've known each other from way back.

Atty. Rodrigo Icao, in his eulogy for Ghent, also said the same thing, he said he only got to know Ghent three years ago but he felt like he had known the guy "from eternity." It could have been one December a few years ago, when I was Bureau Chief of the Visayan Daily Star. I needed someone who could increase our advertising and subscriber base and Ghent came along. He agreed to come along with me and the Daily Star Dumaguete family to Bacolod City for our Christmas party but on the day we were to leave, Ghent told us he couldn't go because he had to go to the hospital.

I also introduced Ghent to DYSR so he could also sell airtime for radio. But he only stayed a month as he was hired by the TEEP project of the World Bank.

I again heard a few months later that Ghent was admitted in hospital for a heart problem. He later told me that he had a weak heart. But that didn't stop him from devoting his energies to outdoor activities. Ghent was always blazing the trail. He opened a travel agency, he managed a resort in Siquijor and he became a tourism consultant to some towns and cities in Zamboanga del Norte.

Again, Ghent had to leave that job in Siquijor because he needed to stay longer in Dumaguete because of his medical condition.

The last time we met was at Shakey's shortly before the new year. Ghent told me he just spent Christmas at the hospital. But he looked hale and healthy and was as cheerful as ever. He always looked forward to the time when their entire family would be able to go to the U.S.

I'm sure most of us who have known Ghent only have happy memories of the man. My thoughts and wishes are that his wife Shiela and their children, Jacqueline and Jeremiah, will feel assured that we will treasure the memories of their loved one.

While I was mulling over life and how someone could die at such a young age, I turned on the TV and heard the quote read by Angelo Castro Jr. after his newscast last Wednesday. The line was, "Don't be worried that you'll die young. Rather, be worried if you haven't started to live."*

back to top