Domingo Deojo Rodrigues Jr.

In Remembrance of My Father:

Domingo Rodrigues Jr., was born in Honolulu of Puerto Rican descent on the island of Oahu, April 20, 1937, and he passed at age 83, on April 20, 2020, at a time when the world was very confusing. So as a family we were not given the opportunity to celebrate his life until this year, therefore we chose the date God brought him into this world and then took him from this world.

He grew up in the community of Kalihi Valley during his youth and attended Kalihi Uka Elementary. The whole ohana lived there, cousins, aunties uncles, and grandparents. His father and mother, Domingo Sr. and Frances, had nine children and my father, Domingo, was the third youngest. At age 11 he became an altar boy at Lady of the Mount Catholic Church in Kalihi Valley. After father graduated from Farrington High School, he enlisted in the US Naval Reserve during the Korean War. He served in the Active Status Pool from May 1954 through May 1962, COM 14, a total of 8 honorable service years.

My father was a well-respected man among his friends and family. He was a very hard working man. He received calls from the Masons Union of Hawaii/Brick and Allied Craft Workers (BAC) Local 1 for approximately 28 years, with full retirement by the early 1990s. His forte was concrete pouring and concrete finishing all over the island of Oahu. He spent a brief time in Odessa, Texas after I graduated from Mililani High School in hopes that I may follow in his footsteps and become a mason too.

My father was a very loving husband to my mother Juliet who predeceased him on March 18,1997. My parents had three children, being Gina, Laura and myself….an only boy and the youngest in a local Hawaiian family. Yes, I was a bit spoiled, until I turned 18, then my mother showed me the door and told me to spread my wings. Father did not stop her.

My father was a musician and would play at small venues all over Oahu, but mostly in Kalihi at Ayala’s Dance Hall where Puerto Rican music was played. His passion was playing music with his father Domingo Sr. and three brothers, Sonny, Martin, and Richard, including his two cousins Johnny and Jr. Ayala. My mother always went with him when he played the music venues to sing and play her ukulele with him. They both taught their children the simple ways of life and to be true to our God and know Jesus in our heart. My father was a dresser and loved to go dancing Boricua style if he wasn’t playing a venue with friends and family. Always good memories of good times and fun.

The holidays were awesome since we were all family oriented. My father would save all his coins during the year in big gallon jars and then use that money to buy Christmas dinner. We ate until we could hardly move while singing and playing music. During New Years and 4 th of July letting off firecrackers was his favorite way to celebrate new beginnings and the freedom we hold so dear to us in our country.

After my mother passed away, he was diagnosed with one medical issue after another, however he was a faithful and strong man and beat all odds for 23 years by living through the loss of one kidney, and beating three cancers, until diagnosed with yet a fourth cancer. He let me know when he knew that God had decided he had spent enough time on this earth and that it was time to return to God’s home. He passed away at home surrounded by loving family members. He was my rock when I needed him, but he was always straight with me when I needed to be strong on my own. God couldn’t have given me a greater father to raise me with a solid foundation for life, so I could find my way in this world.

--- Robert D. Kaleopa'a

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BorthwickOahu.com for the Rodrigues family.