FORMER College of Science and Faculty of Engineering dean Dr. Mariano Pangan died of stomach cancer last March 29, ending a two-month battle with the dreaded disease. He was 81.
According to Buildings and Grounds superintendent Engr. Lawrence Pangan, one of the elder Pangan’s nine children, their family only found out the professor’s condition last January.
Pangan said the family had thought it was just hernia at first, but after a surgery on the affected part, the presence of a malignant cyst was diagnosed.
A hernia is a protrusion of an organ or tissue through an abnormal opening in the body and most of the time occurs when a piece of intestine slips through a weakness in the abdominal wall, creating a visible and touchable bulge.
After the diagnosis, the former dean’s health declined until he passed away last month, Pangan said.
The late Dean Pangan graduated summa cum laude with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, major in Chemical Engineering. He also had a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Chemistry graduating veritissimus and ameritissimus, respectively. He earned the three degrees from UST.
Pangan started teaching in the University in 1943. He became dean of the College of Science in 1968 and served until 1982, when he was appointed dean of the Faculty of Engineering. His deanship with the Faculty ended in 1984.
From 1985-88, he served as the associate director of UST’s Research Center for Natural Sciences and was also the assistant to the Rector for Academic Affairs from 1986-90.
His remains were laid to rest last April 4 at the Holy Cross Memorial Park in Novaliches. Teodoro Lorenzo A. Fernandez and Billy Joe I. Allardo
