Teodoro P. Abellera, a certified public accountant who immigrated from the Philippines in 1967 with his wife, Fidelita, and, his family wrote, little more than their luggage, love for each other and a determination to succeed, died Oct. 20, 2026.
He was born Feb. 4, 1932, in Tacloban, Philippines, and grew up in Cotabato and Butuan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Cagayan de Oro College and passed the Board of Accountancy to become a CPA.
He was a senior accountant and auditor for Tidewater Oil Company in the Philippines when he met Fidelita Padilla Zabat. He knew right away he wanted to marry her, his family wrote. They eloped and married July 29, 1960.
In the United States, the couple found work in their fields. Their four children joined them in Chicago in 1968 and grew up there. The family bought its first home in the early 1970s and later moved to Hickory Hills, where the couple lived for 40 years. Both retired early.
He is survived by his children, Eric (Brenia) Abellera, Alan (Dina) Abellera, Camille (Joseph) Melendres and Roland (Rachelle) Abellera; and his grandchildren, Gavin, Garrett, Jocelyn, Allison, Megan and Kaitlyn Abellera, Jasmine Arendt, and Giselle and Miles Melendres.
Visitation: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, 9 to 11 a.m. at Damar-Kaminski Funeral Home & Crematorium, 7861 S. 88th Ave., Justice.
Service: 11 a.m. at the funeral home, a service and time of remembrance.
Interment: Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.