Biography:

Dr. Paterno Castillo Serezo was born in Calamba, Laguna in the Philippines on the 10th of February, 1946.  Dr. Serezo was the 6th of 12 children born to Alipio Serezo and Josefa Castillo.  Dr. Serezo’s father was a teacher and his mother owned and operated a grocery store.  His siblings are; (twin girls) Violeta and Azucena, Rosita, Gloria, Hernando, Aleli, Divinia, Estrella, Olivia, Evelyn and Socorro.  His mother rose every morning at 5 a.m. to go to work at the grocery store and she wasn’t home until at least 8 p.m.  When he was growing up, Dr. Serezo helped his mother in the grocery store before and after school and on school vacations.  All of his siblings attended college or university and most of them now live in Canada or the United States.

Dr. Serezo was educated at a local elementary school in Calamba and a private high school called Laguna Institute.  Until he entered school, Dr. Serezo only spoke a local Philippine dialect called Tagalog but once he entered school he was taught in English.  After completing high school, Dr Serezo attended the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.  He obtained a Pre-Med B.Sc. degree before continuing his education at the University of the East (also located in Quezon City).  Dr. Serezo graduated M.D. in 1972.  He did a 1 year residency at the University of the East Hospital specializing in internal medicine.

On the 3rd of July, 1973 Dr. Serezo immigrated to Scarborough, Ontario and initially stayed with his sister Rosita, who worked at a Toronto area hospital as a medical technologist.  Upon entering Canada, the immigration official looked at Dr. Serezo’s documents, smiled and said, “Welcome Doctor”.  Within a few days, Dr. Serezo met with the Medical Director at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto and he was accepted as a rotating intern.

Dr. Serezo entered into a surgical residency at the Brooklyn Hospital Centre in New York in 1974.  There, he met his future wife Evangelina Cordova.  Mrs. Serezo was born in the Philippines, the 2nd of 8 children born to Aurelio Cordoba and Guadalupe Getuiza.  Mrs. Serezo’s father worked in a hospital as an aide and her siblings are; Romeo, Osca, Victor, Violeta, Emanuel, Nestor and Julieta.  Mrs. Serezo graduated R.N. from the University of the Philippines School of Nursing in 1970.  Mrs. Serezo immigrated to the United States in April of 1973.  Initially she worked in New Jersey before working at the Brooklyn Hospital Centre in New York City.

Dr. and Mrs. Serezo were married in Brooklyn, New York and their first son, Jan was born in Brooklyn.  Dr. Serezo entered into a 4 year residency with The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in anesthesiology.  Mrs. Serezo and Jan joined Dr. Serezo in Toronto in 1977 and their second son Mark, was born in Toronto.  Dr. Serezo rotated through the different teaching hospitals in Toronto during the course of his studies.

After responding to an advertisement for a position in Wallaceburg, Ontario and having been accepted, the Serezo family moved to Wallaceburg in 1979 where their third son Todd was born.  Dr. Serezo initially joined a general practice clinic and worked as a general practitioner/anesthetist for a few years before establishing his own private practice and devoting himself to the general/family practice.  Mrs. Serezo worked full-time in the medical practice as a nurse/administrator.  Dr. Serezo closed his family practice in December of 2013 and he currently works part-time.

Dr. Serezo and a group of friends visit and watch baseball games every year all over North America and he has been to all 30 major league baseball stadiums.  In their spare time, Dr. and Mrs. Serezo enjoy travelling and spending time with their 3 sons and 3 grandchildren.