Obituary of Dionisio Academia

Dionisio Pascasio Academia, loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and U.S. Navy Veteran peacefully joined our Heavenly Father and his beloved wife, Plaridel Villarin Academia, on October 23, 2018. He is survived by his 7 children—Dionisio Jr., Arlene, Edgar, Alan, John, Paul, Brenda—and their spouses, 18 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. He spent his life serving in the Navy with discipline and curiosity, and joyfully growing his family with Plaridel, fostering a legacy of music, laughter, faith, and love. Dionisio “Dioning” Pascasio Academia was born to Apolonio Floresca Academia and Catalina Ferrer Pascasio on October 3, 1927 in San Narciso, Zambales, Philippines. The fifth of 8 children, young Dionisio enjoyed playing music with his brothers and singing in the Methodist church choir, and was intrigued by his Industrial Arts classes in school, where he learned mechanical drawing and carpentry. He was 14 years old when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Philippines sparking the Battle of Bataan during WWII and he and his family were forced to leave San Narciso. In 1945 during the Allied Liberation of the Philippines, Dionisio joined the U.S. Navy and soon after was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in New York. Over the span of his 26-year U.S. Navy career, he served all around the world as an Airmen and Chief Aviation Mechanic (CPO E-7), including during the end of WWII—for which he received the Filipino Veterans Congressional Gold Medal—the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. A few years after being honorably discharged from the Navy, he returned to work at the North Island Naval Depot in San Diego, California as an Aircraft Engine Repairman, an occupation he enjoyed for 20 years before finally retiring. After 7 years of overseas correspondence, exchanging photos, original poetry, and songs, Dionisio married his beloved Plaridel Villarin, a passionate Tagalog and Folk Dance teacher, on December 21, 1952 in their hometown of San Narciso. Their new family grew to include 3 children, Dionisio Jr. (Dennis), Arlene, and Edgar by 1956, at which time Dionisio was able to have his family join him in Moffett Field, California via Navy transport ship. By 1971, Dionisio and Plaridel had welcomed 4 more children to their clan—Alan, John, Paul, and Brenda—and had made their home in National City, California. To this day, their legacy also includes 24 grandchildren and 5 greatgrandchildren with 2 more on the way. Dionisio and Plaridel had a joint faith and love of Christ, a legacy they proudly shared with their children and children’s spouses, grandchildren and grandchildren’s spouses, and great-grandchildren. Dionisio also passed on to his family his knowledge of cars and their mechanics, as well as his ability to fix or repurpose just about anything, while Plaridel always encouraged her family in their educational and artistic endeavors. Both had a love for music, athletics, and the performing arts that permeated their lives and their homes—whether it be an all-family impromptu jam session at a gathering or celebration, attending their children and grandchildren’s music concerts and sports events, Dionisio quietly strumming his guitar at a picnic in the park while watching his family play volleyball, or Plaridel humming her favorite hymns while cooking a meal. While Dionisio’s family misses his playful spirit, they are at peace knowing that he is now with the love of his life and his Heavenly Father.