Manuel Dejesus Mijango

Manuel Dejesus Mijango, age 68, of McDonough, Georgia passed away on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Born in El Salvador in 1957 and although he left as a young man, the land never left him. He crossed oceans of struggle and concrete to build a life, hands calloused not only by labor but by love. There, he carved out a home, raised four children-Antonio, Claudia, David, and Fernando and kept alive the fire of his homeland. His heart belonged to Rosie-his Coneja-whose laughter still danced in his eyes after decades together. Music was his second language. Mariachi and norteñas flowed through him like breath. He played the accordion and guitar not to impress, but because his soul demanded melody. His voice could turn a backyard into a cathedral. He was stronger than most-never aging in spirit, never intimidated to be the oldest on the soccer team, outrunning time with daily exercise under the sun, outlasting worry with deep, unshakable faith. He was never too tired to play with his grandchildren or slice a watermelon on a hot day. He read with hunger. Not for facts, but for connection-between histories, between people, between the old ways and what still might be. To his grandchildren, he was Abu: a steady light, a warm laugh, the teller of tales. Every time they hear a bird sing they'll remember his whistle. He walked the world like Christ— He loved the earth and its people and formed genuine connections with whomever he met. He saw beauty in the cracked and the forgotten. Nothing, to him, was beneath love. He taught us to not fear death, but to fear life without a purpose. He is gone from our sight, but not from our lives. In every song, every bird, every cloud rising off the mountains— he lives on.

A visitation for Manuel will be held Saturday, May 24, 2025 from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM at Haisten Funerals & Cremations, 1745 Zack Hinton Parkway, McDonough, GA 30253.