VAN NUYS : Dads Remembered During Celebration

For some of the Valley’s senior dads, Father’s Day is spent alone--separated by miles or memory from the children they raised. On Thursday, Alma Patotzka made sure they were not forgotten.

Patotzka and other caring volunteers delivered affection in the form of roast beef, peach pie and ice cream to the 30 dads who gathered for the early Father’s Day celebration at the Bernardi Multipurpose Senior Center in Van Nuys.

“They have an opportunity to feel that someone cares about them and recognizes them as fathers,” Patotzka, nutrition program director for the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council, said of the celebration. “These centers, a lot of times, are like an extended family.”

Such was the case for Marius Ieseanu of North Hills, who has spent earlier Father’s Days with his daughter in the Valley. She now lives in New York and still sends him Father’s Day cards, but the day is not the same without her.

“I love my daughter and the day means a lot to me,” said Ieseanu, 69. He added that the center’s celebration offsets the loneliness. “Seeing so many people, a few friends, it helps.”

The celebration, which also included raffles and prizes for the oldest dad, also helped some children cope with the loss of their fathers, like Jenny Hernandez of Panorama City, a volunteer who doled out vegetables to the men.

“Fathers are very important. I loved my dad,” said Hernandez, 72. “I’m very proud to serve them.”

While the event meant a lot to many of the participants, some, such as Romeo Mabaquiao of Canoga Park, still look forward to receiving mail or a special call on Father’s Day itself.

“That’s my happiness. That they remember me as a father,” said Mabaquiao, 72, who has seven children living across the country.