January 18, 1940 – November 2, 2014
Dr. Manuel A. Cacdac, 74, died peacefully in his Citrus Hills, Florida home at 11:34pm on November 2, 2014. A retired neurosurgeon and native of the Philippines, Dr. Cacdac recently relocated to Citrus Hills from Terre Haute, Indiana, where he and his wife Fe had been residents for nearly 40 years. During that time, he had a successful medical practice and served as both Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff at Terre Haute Regional Hospital.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Cacdac was actively involved in a number of humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors in the Philippines, including serving as a team leader for annual surgical mission trips to the Philippines with the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America and helping thousands of Filipinos in need of medical treatment. In 2010, he founded the Hydrocephalus Foundation of the Philippines (HFP), which provides free surgical services and support to young children afflicted with the life-threatening, debilitating condition known as “water on the brain”. Since the organization’s founding, Dr. Cacdac and the HFP team have helped hundreds of children with hydrocephalus to gain their lives back. He received many honors and awards for his professional and humanitarian achievements, including the Presidential Award from Benigno Aquino III, president of the Philippines, in 2013 for his personal efforts helping children with hydrocephalus.
Dr. Cacdac is survived by his wife, Fe; his daughter, Michele Cacdac Jones of Atlanta, GA; his two sons, Manuel (Chance) Cacdac, Jr. of Palm Beach Gardens, FL and Marcel Cacdac of San Francisco, CA; four grandchildren, Julian Forster Cacdac, Savanna Jones, Charley Cacdac and Teya Forster Cacdac; and several cousins, nieces and nephews in the US and Philippines.