Isaac Colorado Obituary

Rev. Isaac Nilo Colorado was born to Juan and Miguela (Nilo) Colorado in Dasol, Pangasinan, in the Philippines. For the majority of his life, he celebrated his birthday on June 6th, but upon applying for a passport, he learned that his actual birthdate was October 14, 1924. He passed away September 6, 2024, at Regency Care Center, in Norwalk, Iowa. To him and his relatives and friends, he was already 100 years old.

Isaac was the son of a Methodist pastor and was the third of seven children. As a boy, he was in charge of cleaning the church and ringing the bell every Sunday. He was known as “Nonoy” to his parents, siblings, relatives, and community friends, and was later called “Ike” by his fellow pastors and friends.

On January 7, 1949, he married Marcelina Madriaga, and they had seven children (six sons and one daughter), 19 grandchildren, and 16 great grandchildren. His large family lives in the Philippines, United States, and Australia.

Isaac was educated in the Philippines, earning his Bachelor of Theology at Union Theological Seminary, Bachelor of Arts at Philippine Christian University, and Master of Business Administration from Philippine Christian University.

Isaac was a farmer before joining the Philippine Scouts, a military organization of the United States Army. He spent three years in the army, and later, as a U.S. army veteran, he was able to become a U.S. citizen in 1992.

He left the army when he felt called to the ministry and went to study at Union Theological Seminary in Manila. He was ordained Deacon in 1953 and ordained Elder in 1956 in The Methodist Church by Bishop Jose Valencia. He served many churches both in rural and urban locations. Among them were St. John UMC (Lead Pastor), Knox UMC (Associate), and Central UMC (Associate) which were large churches in the Philippines. He also became a District Superintendent for 3 years in Bicol District. He was a member of the Philippines Annual Conference and served its churches for a total of 42 years. He was an outstanding preacher, a caring pastor, and a successful evangelist. He was also a Christian Ethics instructor at Philippine Christian University.

Isaac was athletic. His favorite sport was table tennis (pingpong). He was 4 times Table Tennis Champion in the Iowa Games. He represented Iowa in the 1999 National Senior Games held in Florida. He was the winner in his group but lost against the winner of the second group. He was still able to play a little ping pong even in his nineties.

Isaac was friendly and sociable. He was a man with a good sense of humor. He was also a fighter and stood firmly on what he believed was right. He was a man of faith and prayer. Every day, early in the morning, he and his wife would sing hymns from memory (including all the verses) and would offer long prayers.

Isaac is survived by his children, Bernie (Linda), Ramsay (Freda, Jean - former wife), Ray (Lura, Jaye-former wife), George (Luz), Moody (Emelyn, Beth-deceased), and Joseph (Judy); grandchildren, Neil (Andrea), Lynlyn (Phil), Dale (Jen), Jennifer (Mark), Dennis, Ramsay, Jr. (Kathyrine), Shannah (Pierre), Abigail, Alex (Cristal), Dexter, Maxwell, Hexel, Buhn Alay, Yimyr, Gem, John, Joanna, Joshua (Phoebe), and Jaiden; and great-grandchildren, Ethan, Sydney, Caleb, Rebecca, Isaiah, Maya, Hannah, Francis, Jenna, Jessi, Bea, Coleen, Robin, Kassy, Ayla, and Lily.

He was preceded in death by his wife (Marcelina), parents (Juan and Miguela), siblings (Anday, Oding, Pedring, Haming, Rebing and Ben), and daughter (Thelma).

Funeral Services will take place on Saturday, September 14, 2024 beginning at 10:00 am at Linn Grove United Methodist Church in Prole, Iowa. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at Norwalk Cemetery.

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