Catalino Castro Degala Sr.'s Obituary
Catalino Castro Degala, Sr., 96, of Ewa Beach, passed away January 30, 2016. He was born April 30, 1919 in San Esteban, Ilocos Sur, Philippines to parents Eusebio Segovia Degala and Simeona Abalos Castro Degala, and was the oldest of their six children. He attended school in San Esteban, and, on May 30, 1942, married Florentina Etrata. He came to Hawaii in 1946 as one of the last group of sakadas (Filipino men, primarily from the Visayas and Ilocos regions of the Philippines, that were brought to Hawaii as laborers by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association between 1906 to 1946). In 1956, he was able to bring his wife and two daughters to live in Hawaii. He also lived in Maui and in Sitka, Alaska. In addition to working as a sakada, he was employed for over 30 years as a maintenance man at Kapiolani Medical Center and known by his co-workers as “Kelly”. He was also formerly employed at the Golden Dragon Room of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. He was always smiling, a friendly, quiet, happy and hardworking man, who loved to play guitar, play “Search-A-Word” games, and “talk story” with people. His two favorite songs were “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and “Da Hil Sa Iyo”. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Florentina and daughter, Veneracion Yumol.
He is survived by three sons, Charles E. Degala, Kelly E. (Kristi Mittag-Degala) Degala and Catalino “JR” (Guy) Degala, Jr.; daughter, Norma (Quintin) Collado; sister, Afelina Degala; eight grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren.
A visitation will be held from 5:30-9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. Wake service will be at 6:30 p.m. A second visitation will be from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, at the Co-Cathedral of Saint Theresa. A Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. with burial to follow at 12:30 p.m. at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. Aloha attire is suggested. Flowers are welcome
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