Porfirio B. Danque

Porfirio B Danque was born in Bataan, Philippines, in 1931. Porfirio was child number 15 out of 16 children, born to Emilio & Ynez Danque; his siblings included four sets of identical twins. The majority of Porfirio's brothers and sisters succumbed prematurely to childhood diseases, malaria and casualties from the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.

Porfirio's father was a US Navy musician who played the cello. At the age of 22, Porfirio joined the United States Navy. Two years later, he was stationed at Yokosuka, Japan, where Porfirio met Fumi Ishihara, "the most beautiful woman standing in the doorway," at the Naval Base. Two weeks later, Porfirio and Fumi married and remained married for the next 61 years.

Porfirio, Fumi and their three small children, Gloria, Yunice and Denny, travelled by Naval ship for two weeks to reach the United States in 1960. Porfirio was stationed in Long Beach, CA, where their youngest child, Flora, was born. Porfirio and family relocated to Great Lakes, Illinois, before settling down in San Diego, CA.

During his 30 years career in the US Navy, 23 years Active & 7 years Reserve, Porfirio was deployed on many East & West pack adventures and in the Vietnam War. It was in Vietnam where Porfirio was exposed to Agent Orange and develop Parkinson's Disease decades later. Porfirio retired at the rank of E9 Master Chief Petty Officer. Porfirio worked 2 more decades with Cal Trans, retiring as the Head Electrician of the Coronado Bay Bridge.

While serving in the US Navy, Porfirio attended evening classes and obtained a Real Estate Broker's license, General Contractor license, FCC 1st Class license, and an Associates Degree in Electronics from Southwestern College. Porfirio's love of learning and emphasis on education was passed on to his family. He supported his younger sister, Flordeliza, and daughter, Flora, through medical school. Porfirio's children, Yunice & Denny, along with his grandchildren, Leo, Angie, Brian and Nathan had their college educations financed by him and Fumi.

Another passion of Porfirio was investing in real estate. Porfirio and Fumi purchased a small duplex in National City, which they fixed up and sold in order to purchase bigger properties. Porfirio became business partners with his older brother and sister-in-law to invest in larger apartment buildings and strip malls. Porfirio engrained in his children strong work ethics by waking them up every Sunday morning at 3:30 am to pile into the back of his truck and start cleaning the strip mall parking lots before the customers arrived. Porfirio & Fumi taught their children how to do manual labor to encourage them to stay in school.

Porfirio's greatest passion was his wife, Fumi, and his family. Their children and grandchildren are filled with memories of Porfirio holding their mom's hand while they watched TV together. Porfirio was placed under Apreva Hospice care. He transitioned peacefully in his home on May 25, 2017 with his wife and children at his bedside. Rest In Peace, beloved husband, father, grandfather, entrepreneur and retired US Navy man.

Porfirio B. Danque is survived by his wife, Fumi, daughter Gloria and her husband, Junior, daughter, Yunice, son, Denny and his wife, Pam, daughter, Flora, grandsons: Leo, Brian, Nathan, Sam, Garrett and Zachary; granddaughters: Regina and Angie.