Fidel Gabriel Malinis

Fidel Gabriel Malinis was born in the small town of Palico, located in Imus Cavite, Philippines, on Sunday, April 24, 1949. Fidel is the fourth child of Julia Gabriel and Pedro Malinis. His siblings are Leandro Malinis, Edgardo “Eddie” Malinis, Minerva (Malinis) Reyes, and Pedrito “Toto” Malinis.

Palico was a small town where all the people knew each other. At one point in his childhood, Fidel came to the porch of the Del Mundo Family household to see their new tricycle, which was a popular form of public transportation around town. This was how he met the Del Mundo’s youngest daughter, Lynn. According to Fidel, she was very unfriendly.

After Fidel graduated from Del Pilar Academy High School, he decided to visit the nearby Naval Station Sangley Point where he knew that recruiters were hiring. He was officially recruited on September 22, 1967 and was sent to San Diego, California for training. Shortly after, on February 5, 1968, Fidel was assigned to the USS Long Beach. The ship was deployed to many different countries, often crossing the equator.

While Fidel was stationed on the USS Long Beach, he learned that his older brother, Eddie, was also stationed in Long Beach, California. Fidel was always full of surprises. He tracked down Eddie, gave him a warm, unexpected greeting, and took him to the local Filipino eatery for a traditional meal. Eddie recalls it as one of the best surprises his brother ever gave him.

Eddie found out that the Del Mundo Family from their native town of Palico had relocated to Huntington Beach—only 15 miles away from Long Beach. Fidel and Eddie decided to pay the family a visit. Once again, Fidel met their youngest daughter, Lynn, but this time, she was not as unfriendly as Fidel remembered. In fact, their love for each other had just begun. Fidel and Lynn started going on dates, along with Lynn’s friends from Marina High School and Cerritos College.

Their loving relationship blossomed quickly and they decided to get married on August 23, 1971 in Los Angeles. Together, they birthed and raised five wonderful children. The eldest, Nora, was born at Pioneer Hospital in Artesia on August 18, 1972, while Fidel was stationed in Long Beach. Soon after, the family of three relocated to Northern California where Fidel was stationed in Naval Station Treasure Island. Nora often begged for a little sister and Fidel and Lynn were not ones to deny their charming daughter a request. Their second daughter, Amelia, was born on August 9, 1981 at the Letterman Army Hospital, which is now a George Lucas Digital Arts Center. The family of four relocated back to Southern California. Eventually, Fidel and Lynn went on to add three sons to the family. Bryan was born on May 7, 1988. The twin boys, Andrew and Alex, were born on November 4, 1993. All three were delivered at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital.

All throughout their marriage and the growth of their family, Fidel continued to fulfill his duties as a loyal Naval officer. The most significant testament to Fidel’s dedication was his duty at Naval Air Station Imperial Beach, California, which lasted from July 6, 1970 to April 15, 1971. Even while he maintained a loving relationship with his new wife, Fidel was making the round-trip commute between Huntington Beach and Imperial Beach every day—a drive of over 200 miles! He would leave the house very early in the morning and return home very late in the evening. There was even a time when he fell asleep while driving and the horn from a nearby truck woke him up. This event really worried Lynn, which is why they decided to move briefly into an apartment in Imperial Beach before relocating back to Cerritos for the birth of their first child, Nora.

Fidel made a lot of sacrifices for the sake of his family from its earliest beginnings. Some of Fidel’s other notable Naval assignments included the USS Arnold J. Isbell (August 5, 1972) and the USS Henderson (October 12, 1973), which allowed him to return to Long Beach. After 20 years of faithful service to his country, Fidel officially retired from the United States Navy on January 31, 1988. By the time of his retirement, he had reached the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

Although his commitment to family and military duties were among his most admirable qualities, Fidel is remembered for all the little things he loved as well. From maintaining a pristine yard to fixing the car, and from watching Jeopardy every night to learning how to tie sea knots in the garage, Fidel often kept himself busy by continually finding something to stimulate his mind. He frequently sat at his desktop computer, typing out extensive lists of random countries and their corresponding capitals (he never got one wrong!). Occasionally, he would sit at the piano to play and sing the one song he remembered by heart: “She Wears My Ring”. In fact, music was a source of great happiness for Fidel. His eclectic taste in music artists spanned across genres and generations, including: Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone, Elvis Presley, Engelbert Humperdinck, Anne Murray, The Carpenters, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Clay Aiken, Josh Groban, Michael Buble, and Lady Gaga, to name a few.

Humorously, Fidel was also notorious for drinking, reheating, and spilling his coffee every single day. This proved problematic for his tee shirts and polo shirts, which were always white—his favorite color. The wooden floors of the house frequently needed mopping just to avoid the sticky residue from his sugary coffee spills. It became a running joke in the house to step on a sticky spot because everyone knew it was Fidel and his coffee antics again. He also took very long to finish a single serving, which was evidenced by the constant reheating of his cup. Whenever Fidel misplaced his mug, you could always find it sitting in the microwave!

Above all, Fidel’s most beloved pastime was playing Mah Jong, the Chinese/Filipino tile game. He was so good that he could name every tile in the deck simply by feeling the engravings with his finger. He could also figure out what tiles you had in your hand based on tiles you would discard during the game. It is no surprise that he was viewed as the most experienced (and intimidating) player at every game. Fortunately, Fidel taught all of his children how to play so that it could remain an enduring family activity—one that the family still engages in today.

Fidel was also a remarkable chef. His skills in the kitchen were seldom matched by anyone else in the family. His favorite dishes were anything with plenty of sauce, such as Sinigang, Kare Kare, Nilaga, Chicken Sopas, Afritda, Tinola, and, of course, Adobo. It is no surprise that he had mastered the creation of these dishes—a quality his family much appreciated. This was especially true after Fidel retired from the workforce and transitioned into the role of a stay-at-home father for his three young sons. Between fixing up the house, transporting the kids to and from school, and running household errands, Fidel always found the time to cook a hearty meal for the family, especially his wife who was commuting as far as Glendale each day for work.

Perhaps one of Fidel’s most redeeming qualities was his ability to make amends. Although he was known for his quick and heated temper, he was equally known for his willingness to apologize for wrongdoings—a quality rarely seen among men from his culture. His humility taught our family that mistakes are human and that a true sign of devotion is having the strength and courage to apologize, especially to the people you love. This would prove to be his most humbling quality, up until the last moments of his life.

In 1994, shortly after the births of Andrew and Alex, Fidel arranged to see a specialist because he felt he was losing his senses of taste and smell. After numerous tests, he received the news that he had nasopharyngeal carcinoma—a cancer affecting his nasal and throat passages. With the utmost bravery, Fidel agreed to radiation therapy at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. Unfortunately, the treatment was only partially successful. Through the support of doctors at Loma Linda Medical Research Center, Fidel entered proton beam therapy to completely eliminate all remaining cancer cells. In the years that followed, Fidel fought tirelessly against the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to classify his cancer as a service-connected illness due to his exposure to Agent Orange while in the Navy. Eventually, the VA agreed to give him a disability rating, acknowledging that his illnesses were the result of his duties while in service to our country.

Although the combination of treatments from Fountain Valley and Loma Linda successfully eliminated his cancer, the extensive exposures to radiation caused its own difficult side effects, which Fidel would endure for nearly twenty-five years. Despite these difficulties, he continued to bring joy to the lives of those around him. The jokes didn’t stop, the cooking prevailed, the Mah Jong walls were built, and the movie nights continued.

In December 2018, Fidel was hospitalized because of immense pain in his neck and spine. After many tests, doctors determined that his spine was starting to deteriorate due to the excessive radiation treatments from 1994. Furthermore, the family was shocked to learn that Fidel had cancer once again. Even though doctors were skeptical and he had already endured countless struggles, Fidel insisted that he begin chemotherapy treatment immediately to fight the cancer. As expected, his audacity never faltered, even as he was repeatedly hospitalized due to complications throughout 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, despite Fidel’s courage and drive, God had other plans for him. After his brave battle against cancer and the many other illnesses that accompanied it, Fidel joined the choir of angels in heaven in the early hours of Tuesday, June 11, 2019 while under the care of his family in their home in Midway City, California.

Though the final years of Fidel’s life are characterized by debilitating health problems, he is remembered for his warm humor, bravery, steadfast determination, selflessness, and unconditional love. Through every obstacle, he remained strong not only for himself, but also for his family. We live each day to its fullest so that we honor his legacy as a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, and guardian angel. We miss him dearly, but we know he will always be watching over us, just as he did in life.

* * * * * * * * * *

Fidel Gabriel Malinis was born on April 24, 1949

and passed away on June 11, 2019 in Midway City, California.

As Fidel wishes to be cremated, in lieu of flowers,

please consider alternate offerings to honor him.