Funeral of Armando M. Tangonan
My name is Kevin Tangonan and I am fundraising for my dad, Armando Tangonan’s funeral. Normally I don’t ask others for monetary support, I usually make ends meet but these last few months have been tough on expenses especially his medical expenses and now with the cost of a funeral service. I can cover most of the deposit expenses involved in his service but it’ll be hard to pay off the remaining on top of rent/mortgage, student loans, and other monthly bills. My mom is unemployed, having been my dad’s caretaker these last three years and my brother is only able to provide a little bit because his job isn’t as well-paid to be frank. I would truly appreciate any support you send our way.
The $3,000 would go a long way towards his cremation, internment, casket, wreaths, flowers, engraving, and outstanding medical fees.
My Dad's Story:
Armando M. Tangonan was born on December 22, 1949 in Santo Nino, Paranaque, Manila, Philippines. Grandson to Roman Tangonan and Antonina Friala, and Son to Ricarte Tangonan and Beatriz Marquez. His early life was full of memories of catching tilapia, catfish, manila clams, and crabs in the mangrove lagoons of pre-developed Paranaque. He helped his mother with the embroidery of the traditional Filipino garments, the Barong Tagalog and Maria Clara. He would help his father harvest fruits and vegetables on the farm in the northern Ilocos countryside. He was a scrappy kid back in the day, boxing in the streets with his cousins and brothers after school.
One day, his father left the family in the Philippines to start a new life in Hawaii. And then his mother had passed away young due to cancer. As the oldest brother, he took care of and supported his nine siblings (6 sisters and 3 brothers) on his own. He put his own education on hold and traveled the Philippines as a wandering craftsman/tradesman, painting and building houses. He met my mom through a mutual friend who connected them as pen pals during his time working around the country. He participated in the pro-democracy movement of the 1970s, and with the turmoil going on in the Philippines, wanted to start a new life elsewhere.
His father surprisingly reached out to him, and with the support of his Aunty Mary (in Hilo, Big Island) and Aunty Juanita (in Kalihi, Oahu) was able to immigrate and become a naturalized citizen of the United States. His father passed before he finally made it to Hawaii in 1984 to properly thank him. His Kalihi family initially supported him with a small apartment until he could find his own place, which he did. He bought a place in Mountain View on the Big Island and eventually was successful in petitioning for his girlfriend at the time (my mom) to also immigrate to the United States. They both eventually married in Honolulu and had me.
My mom and dad worked at Cardinal Delivery before settling in Manoa to work at Paradise Park, an exotic jungle zoo and backdrop to the original Jurassic Park film. My dad was a zookeeper and bird handler at the park, having raised a few cockatoos and macaws in his own aviary when the park finally closed down in the 1990s. He worked in other menial janitorial positions at Pucks Alley and Waiakamilo Shopping Center. We couldn't afford a babysitter, so I often slept in the car or helped him with janitorial work to pass the time.
We moved out to the west side in Ewa Beach in 1998 when my brother was born, and when he got a job as a security guard at Kapolei Medical Park and then finally the Honolulu Star Advertiser as press room staff. He loved reading the newspaper while drinking his coffee in the morning, talking about world politics, and traveling. I only wish he got to see the world more as I had, I think he got to live vicariously through my stories. He also was the farm kid, then and now, growing fruits and vegetables, and cultivating orchids on his off-time in our garden.
He put family first and petitioned for his sister, Marites; her husband, Romeo; and their two children, Jennifer and Jerome to immigrate to the United States. After he finally retired in 2017 from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, he began traveling back and forth to the Philippines to help the rest of his siblings in building up the large family house in Paranaque. His first trip in nearly 30 years since he returned to his homeland. He kept supporting the whole family, leaving very little for himself at the end.
We all did not expect to hear the news that he collapsed from a stroke on February 1st, 2017. Only eight months into graduate school in South Korea, I abandoned my apartment and my studies taking the first flight back to Hawaii. Through much physical therapy and medical treatment at the Rehabilitation Center of the Pacific, my dad was able to recover some normalcy and returned home after a few months. He lived life watching his Filipino comedies in bed and with near-daily strolls around the house. He got to reconnect with family virtually every so often who called in and checked-up on him.
The pandemic made it difficult to take him out anywhere sadly because of his vulnerable condition. On Thanksgiving night 2020, signs of weakness began to show, his oxygen levels were low and he had to be taken in by Queen's West Oahu. It was difficult given the rules and regulations for visitation to see him as often as we can. He was eventually transferred to Kaiser Permanente Moanalua where we got to see him together on Christmas Eve. And finally at St. Francis Hospice, where I got to see him the day before he passed on January 11, 2021. He was down-to-earth, honest, hardworking, selfless, the ideal father, friend, husband, brother, and son. I think he knew in the end, he was loved by so many, friends and family aplenty. Now he is at peace.