Mario Karlo B. Salazar

Born in Metro Manila, Philippines, to Mario and Maria Agnes Salazar, Karlo attended school at La Salle Green Hills until a life-changing career opportunity for his mother, Agnes, brought the Salazar family to the United States in the early 1990s. They made Alexandria, Virginia, right outside Washington, DC, their home for many years. Here, Karlo attended Clermont Elementary, Mark Twain Middle School, and Thomas Edison High School, graduating in 2002.

In college, Karlo was a proud Patriot of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he majored in Business Management. It was also there that he was an active member of the Filipino Cultural Association, where he made many lifelong friendships.

After college, Karlo spent nearly his entire professional career with one organization, Navy Federal Credit Union. It was Navy Federal that brought him his own life-changing career opportunity in 2015, helping people finance the homes of their dreams in a new city—San Diego, California.

Karlo was an avid pop culture enthusiast with a wide and eclectic taste in music, which he credited to his father, Mario. Just like his father, Karlo loved to cook and entertain family and friends over great spreads of food. He loved traveling, whether it was short day trips to Disneyland, visiting friends in Hawaii, or family in the Philippines. He was as present a son, brother, cousin, friend, and uncle as anyone could be. Even despite challenges, he never let anything stop him from being with family and friends. Generous, thoughtful, kind, and positive are just a few words often used to describe him by those who knew him best.

Karlo is survived by his mother, Agnes; older brother, Kevin; younger brother, Kris; and youngest sister, Kate; his beloved nephews and nieces, Rafael, Lana, Henry, and Nora; and his best friend, his dog, Kobe.

He will be reunited in Heaven with his father, Mario, where they’ll be in front of a grill, jamming to an endless CD changer turned up way too loud, with no one to stop them.

A celebration of Karlo's life will be held Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 11 AM to 3 PM at El Camino Memorial in Sorrento Valley, San Diego. A Catholic mass will be held on Friday, June 27, 2025, at 2 PM at nearby Good Shepherd Catholic Church.