Mr Federico Neri Magalong

“Give me a problem and I’ll hand you a solution.” Those who knew Federico N. Magalong would agree that that motto accurately described him. Federico was a man of great drive and a very original, independent thinker. For Federico, no challenge was impossible, and just about any desired result was within his grasp. Federico placed great trust in his intuition. Since that intuition generally led him in the right direction, who was he to doubt it.

Federico was born on October 23, 1923 in Pangasinan, Philippines. He was the son of Tiburcio Magalong and Brigida Neri. His childhood found him in Manila, Philippines where he matured into the independent person he eventually became.

Federico grew up with two siblings. He had a younger sister, Pacita Mejia, and a younger brother, Isidro Magalong(deceased). Federico could be seen as being stubborn by his siblings. It was important to him that he was perceived as “right” when it came to his part in those typical family spats. However, this quality did not over power his caring for his family. This ability to balance his family, with his need to be seen as right, helped him to develop into a young adult while enjoying many good times with his family.

During his grade school years, Federico was a very focused and serious student who actually enjoyed the challenge of many classroom problems. He was determined to succeed, and he drew upon his gifts of trust and perseverance to provide him with a competitive edge. While his first love might have been academics, Federico took part in basketball. He was a Scout. Federico delighted in projects that required planning, critical thinking and resolution. Federico's memorable achievement was bonding with his family.

During high school, Federico was relentless in his pursuit of learning, especially in those subject areas that really grabbed hold of his interests. It wasn't that he didn't put forth his best efforts in all classes, but if a subject really interested him, he would eagerly put forth extra effort to learn all he could. Federico graduated from Pangasinan High School. He loved debating about politics. He was intelligent in class.

Federico was loyal to his friends. He found that he was most in tune with people who had similar interests and thought about things much the way that he did. Federico sometimes had a tendency to be critical in his friendships but he was more interested in finding out what was right in a situation rather than in being mean toward others. He never intentionally set out to hurt any of his friends. Federico was a person who challenged others to fend for themselves and to be original in their thinking and evaluation of the outside world. While growing up, some of his best friends were Augusto, Pacing, Isidro, and Feliza.

On May 1, 1956, Federico exchanged wedding vows with Feliza Manloctao at Catholic Church of Pangasinan, Philippines. Feliza's sensitivity to Federico's needs proved to be a wonderful influence on this man, who preferred to live in his “gut.” Feliza's influence brought Federico to a new emotional level, one that eventually enhanced all of his other gifts and abilities. Feliza was able to help Federico appreciate the fact that others made contributions and Federico became better at interacting with those around him. Because of this, Federico grew as a person.

Federico often neglected his own feelings in order to give to others. This was very true when it came to how he dealt with his children. He was able to hand on to each child a number of strong values. He taught them to appreciate their abilities, gave them a desire to persevere despite obstacles and set within them a drive to succeed. He had Six, four daughters: Nelda, Gloria, Elvie, and Beatriz, and two sons: Jessie and Jimmy. He also had sixteen grandchildren, Russel, Dandan, Fredrick, Patrick, Christopher, Christian, Ed Jr., Joy, Jonathan, Jefferson, Abegail, Ranel, Richard, Bert, Chito, and Rainier. They were always aware of how much Federico loved them.

During Federico's professional working years, he was at his best when working independently. It became the hallmark of his performance. Federico was generally able to refocus his drive and determination and readily work toward finding a way to get things done that was beneficial to himself and his co-workers. His primary occupation was security guard.

Federico was an Army veteran. He was in World War II. Federico saw action when fighting in Japan and went to Tokyo, Japan. Through his hard work and dedication, he achieved the rank of Private Cadet.

For Federico, his outside interests and hobbies became another exercise in learning and mastering areas that interested him. He greatly enjoyed unraveling the "hows" and "whys" that lay behind his hobbies. Federico was always pushing himself to learn more and to stretch his knowledge base even further. He firmly believed that the more things that he knew the more control he would have over things. His favorite pursuits were playing basketball.

Watching his favorite sporting events by himself was never a problem for Federico. It allowed him to indulge in his own individual interpretation of the event. It was not uncommon for Federico to know what the right play or move “should have been,” and he would vocally address these feelings even if there was no one around to hear them. And if there were others around, he would still state his feelings and gladly debate anyone on their opposing views. In high school, Federico played basketball.

Federico's skepticism was visible when he found it necessary to place too much trust in one person. This was never clearer than when it was time for him to schedule a vacation or period of time away from his regular schedule. Federico loved the research aspects of planning a trip, but the actual process of relaxing was far more difficult. Still, he did manage to enjoy some time away. Favorite vacations included Manila, Philippines, and Reno, Las Vegas.

Federico N. Magalong passed away on September 15, 2013 at Alexander Cohen Hospice House in Hughson, California. Federico fought a brave battle against Leukemia. He is survived by his children Gloria, Elvira, Jimmy, and Beatriz; his grandchildren Russel, Dandan, Frederick, Patrick, Christopher, Christian, Ed Jr., Joy, Jonathan, Jefferson, Abegail, Ranel, Richard, Bert, Chito, and Rainier; his great grandchildren Czarina, Katrina, Brandon, and Christopher; his sister Pacita Mejia and his niece and nephew Beatriz and Ben. Services were held at Oak Hill Funeral Home in San Jose, California,. Federico was laid to rest in Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose, California.

Federico N. Magalong was always drawn to what was measurable, practical and factual. He was a very competent person who expected competence from others. He could be headstrong and certain about the way things were supposed to be. He was determined in every aspect of his life and certain that he was usually right about things. He trusted his intuition over all else, even if it opposed the popular belief, and he had faith in his inner vision and speculations. He wanted to be acknowledged by others as having made a contribution to whatever he was working on. His family and friends will miss his fierce determination, relentless innovations and analytic mind. He leaves with all those who knew him many wonderful memories.