Death is inevitable, unavoidable, and unpredictable. One never knows when death will strike. Our loving God can call us to Himself at any time. Last year, our beloved son, Immac Juventinus invited the whole family for a Father’s Day weekend celebration. The previous day he had taken a family group kayaking. Unfortunately, he had an accident and breathed his last. We were packing to go to his place when we received the devastating news. We immediately went to Port Jervis Hospital, New York, totally unaware of the tragic outcome that was awaiting us.
Scripture: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. The one who believes in me will live; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die (John 11: 25).
We loved our son from the moment he was born. The experience of parenthood is one that we will never forget and will cherish always. Our son was born on February 2, 1959, which is an important date in the Christian calendar. Many of you are familiar with our deep devotion to Roman Catholicism. February 2 is the feast day of Candlemas. It celebrates three important occasions: the presentation of the Child Jesus, Jesus’ first entry into the Temple; and purification of the Virgin Mary. To commemorate this important event, we decided to name our son Immac in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
Becoming parents does not come with a guidebook. Immac was not only our first born but also the first grandson for our parents, so he became our pride and joy from the moment he was born. Our parents actively participated in raising him and instilling Christian values from early on.
After receiving his Doctorate, he worked as a post-doctoral Research Fellow in tumor immunology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre
Immac emulated and devoted himself to following our deep devotion to our Catholic faith. It was the linchpin of his life and was the cornerstone on which he based his approach to life. Immac was an easy child to parent because he imbibed from us what it meant to live a good, honourable, ethical, and spiritual life. It determined his entire approach to everything that he did the rest of his life. The Catholic faith was his mainstay for his entire life.
Immac was a great student who diligently applied himself to his studies and achieved great things as a scholar early on in his life at St. Benedict’s College in Colombo. Not surprisingly he was an altar boy and a Boy Scout. He was a skilled sportsman. The first big adventure in his life was coming to the United States at the age of fifteen to pursue and broaden his academic aspirations. An uncle was a teacher at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, New York. He facilitated a scholarship for Immac at the school. The Jesuits enjoy a great reputation for their teaching abilities and for producing great scholars and devoted Catholics. From Fordham Prep he went on to Fordham University with a Presidential scholarship. He obtained his Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate in Biology there. He was in a very real sense a self-made man. We as his parents reveled in his accomplishments.
After receiving his Doctorate, he worked as a post-doctoral Research Fellow in tumor immunology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre. Subsequently Immac joined the prestigious intellectual property law firm of Fish & Neave as a patent agent and enrolled in the evening law degree programme at Fordham University School of Law. He received a Juris Doctor degree there in 1994. He thrived in this work and joined Schering-Plough as a Senior Patent Counsel specializing in Biotechnology Patent Law. He rose through the ranks at Schering-Plough as Director and Senior Director leading the Biotechnology Intellectual Property Group. He was an outstanding attorney and successfully handled major international patent law cases in the United States as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
We were amazed by his blazing career track, but much more so by his outstanding capabilities as a man who took his religion seriously. Our pride in him knew no bounds.
Darling Son, you were not only our first born but was also the rock and strength for our family. You took care of your family, your parents, siblings and extended family always with deep love and affection. Your care and selfless love can never be replaced. We can never thank God enough for giving us a brilliant, genius, most of all a loving son like you. Farewell our precious Darling Prince, until we meet in God’s beautiful garden, Rest in peace, Thamby.
We conclude and concur with two Scripture quotes that are applicable to him:
“This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
“I have fought the good fight to the end.
I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:17)
Your loving Parents
Anna Lourdes & Joseph Bonjean Thampoe
