Rev. Father Norman B. Segovia was born on Jan 13, 1944 and passed away on April 29, 2021. He was born to Eduardo and Evalina Segovia, in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He now joins his parents in eternal life as well as his brothers (Nelson and Hernan). He is survived by two sisters (Astrid and Mildred) and four brothers (Donald, Alan, Eduardo Jr. and Dennis) and a number of nephews and nieces and grand nieces and grand nephews.
He joined the seminary at Sacred Heart in 1956 at the age of 12, he studied 8 years there, 4 for high school and 4 for philosophy. He then went to San Carlos Seminary in Manila where he spent 4 years studying theology. He was ordained on December 23, 1967 at San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City. His first assignment was in La Carlota City. His next assignments were in Sum-Ag, Brgy. Sang Virgen, Holy Trinity Academy, San Antonio Abad and Henrietta VIllage. He was then the beloved parish priest at San Juan Nepomuceno in Sum-Ag for 9 years between 1976-1985. He moved to the States in 1986. He graduated with a Masters in Arts in Catechetics from Santa Clara University in 1989, due, in most part, to the urging of his mother. He stayed with the Diocese of San Jose until his untimely passing, being active even while technically retired, when he visited from the Philippines. While with the diocese of San Jose, he presided at and was the pastor of St. John the Baptist for a number of years. He also built, from the ground up, Christ the King Church, where he learned Spanish so he could officiate the masses in the language of the parishioners. He was the Vicar of the Filipino clergy and the director of the Diocesan of Filipino Catholics of San Jose.
In 2015, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. After a year of treatment here in the States, he was successful in beating it in 2016. He said that it was the beginning of his second chance at life. And a life wonderfully lived it was.
Father Norman was largely known for his amazing singing voice. Often, he led the karaoke at parties he attended. When he sang, his booming and powerful voice brought tears to many eyes. His rendition of the Segovia Family song “I Believe” was highly coveted. Father Norman was incredibly generous, had a huge heart, and loved to feed people. He is charismatic and compassionate and always a beacon of light. He is loved by many, and will be sorely missed. He fought a hard fight, but in the end “missed his parents”…