Pedrito Apoong Galupo

Dr. Pedrito (Pete) Apoong Galupo died on the morning of December 31, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio while listening to his favorite hymn “How Great Thou Art.” He was 89 years old. 

Pete was born June 29, 1935 in Kalasungay, Bukidnon on the island of Mindanao in The Philippines. He was the 5th of 10 children born to Pedro and Pilar Galupo. He attended high school at the Pilgrim Institute in Cagayan de Oro City and college at Silliman University in Dumaguete. He then went on to attend medical school at Far Eastern University in Manila, before working as a medical intern and Resident in Anesthesiology at the Clark Air Force Base. 

He returned home and met Carol Lowden, a Peace Corps volunteer from Columbus, Ohio who was stationed in Kalasungay for the year. The two of them married in 1963. Their first child, Margaret Pilar, was born in 1964. In 1965, Pete, Carol and Pilar traveled to the United States, where Pete trained to be a surgeon at Grant and Riverside hospitals in Columbus, Ohio. Pete and Carol had three more children, Peter Lowden, M. Paz, and Maria Paula. 

Pete became a citizen of the United States on May 13, 1969. In this country there is a tendency to speak about immigrant stories in terms of exceptionalism. That is to say, that an immigrant needs to be extraordinary in order to be seen as valuable to the country and community they have chosen to enter. And Pete certainly lived an extraordinary life. He lived through American colonial rule and Japanese occupation of The Philippines during WWII. He practiced medicine and helped countless people as a surgeon in both Ohio and Michigan for 30 years. He sponsored multiple family members to immigrate to the United States, opening up his home to siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews for months – sometimes years – at a time. He was an extensive traveler who completed medical missions to Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, China, and The Philippines, among many other countries. 

But Pete’s life was made up of many ordinary moments, too. He was a doting husband, a supportive brother, a caring father, and the sweetest grandfather. He was intensely competitive and a bit of a sore winner, especially when it came to chess and Scrabble. He was also wildly stubborn, as evidenced by the time he performed his own vasectomy on a bet. He loved to garden. He was an easy crier. He had a gorgeous baritone that he shared freely. He was a devoted fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes. He rocked the hell out of a kangol hat. 

Pete is preceded in death by his daughter Margaret Pilar Childers. In addition to his loving wife Carol Louise Lowden Galupo, Pete is survived by his son Peter Lowden Galupo (and Connie Wood), daughter M. Paz Galupo (and Carin Sailer), and daughter Maria Paula Galupo (and Jeffrey Staudt). He is also survived by three sisters: Ophelia Rubio in The Philippines, and Pilarita (Dana) Galupo Courter and Ethel Galupo Quimba in Columbus, Ohio. He has six granddaughters: Isabel Pilar Galupo, Caroline Paz Childers, Sophia Ayn Staudt, Ana Maybeli Staudt, Maya Pilar Galupo, and Lucia Pilar Galupo. 

Pete’s value to his country and community were simply this: He lived and he loved and he always tried his best. He leaves behind a legacy of generosity and kindness. 

An intimate family service was held on January 1, 2025 to celebrate Pete’s life. In lieu of flowers, please commit an act of kindness in his honor or make a donation to the charity of your choice.