Romeo Rocabo Finuliar

Romeo Finuliar, also known as Romy to family and friends, was born on April 16, 1931 in the town of Manaoag, located in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. He was the eldest son of Teodorico and Rosena Finuliar and his siblings were his brothers Tony, Lito, Ruben, and sisters, Cleofe and Guia. He attended Araneta University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Plant Pathology.

Romy enlisted in the US Navy and was Steward on 3 different carriers - USS Constellation in New York, USS Rehoboth in San Francisco, shore duty in Beeville TX, and USS Shangri-La in Mayport FL. After given the opportunity to learn a new trade he graduated from the US Naval School as a Data Processing Technician and was stationed in Pearl City HI and Alameda, CA. His final orders had him stationed in Guam as a reservist and in 1981, Romy finally retired.

During his service in the Navy, while on vacation in the Philippines, Romy reconnected with a family friend, Linda (Lynn) Tandoc. After their courtship, they married on July 4,1964. Romy had to return to the US and on March 25, 1965 in Manila, Philippines, Lynn welcomed their first child, a daughter, Mylene. In 1966, Romy was on shore duty in Beeville TX and Lynn and Mylene finally was able to join him. 1967, they welcomed their second child, a son, Jesse Ian.

After retiring from the Navy in 1981, Romy continued to work as a Federal employee at the Naval Station in Alameda. He was able to retire from the position as a Data technician after 10 years. Romy and Lynn were finally able to enjoy traveling on cruise ships to Alaska, Canada, the Scandinavian countries, the Mediterranean, Australia and New Zealand. They also traveled with group tours to Europe and the Holy Land and did road trips traveling to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington and Vancouver, Canada. They visited the Philippines when they could until it wasn’t possible because of health reasons.

In between traveling, Romy was an avid gardener spending his time taking care of his gardens filled with vegetables and flowers. He was a doting grandfather also known as Poppa, to Jesse and Carol’s 3 children, Jason, Julia, and Cherie. Jesse and his family along with Mylene and her partner, Tom, live close and made a commitment to have dinner every Monday with the whole family. Even when he started slowing down he still was able to have great conversations and a sense of humor. At 94, Romy peacefully passed away on June 27, 2025 which was one week before his and Lynn’s 61st wedding anniversary. Romy, Dad, Poppa.....we are grateful for the time we had with him and we will miss him.