Rufo Herrera Augustin Sr.'s Obituary
Rufo Hererra Augustin Sr. was born in Echague, Isabela, Philippines on July 29, 1925 to Genera and Santos Agustin. As a child he spent hours everyday working on his family farm, growing rice and corn, while also juggling schoolwork. During World War II the Japanese set out to take over Asia and Southeast Asia. Imperial Japan started their invasion of the Philippines on December 8, 1941. Shortly thereafter, the Japanese took over his entire village. Rufo and his family were forced to evacuate their house and their village and go into hiding in the rainforest for a couple of years from the Japanese soldiers. This was a time he learned survival skills that would later help him succeed in his future career in The United States Army.
At age 23, Rufo made a hard decision to leave his home and his family in The Philippines to pursue "The American Dream." He arrived in San Francisco, California in August of 1949. Rufo enrolled in college and began his studies. During this time The Korean War broke out. At that point, he voluntarily enlisted in the Unites States army at age 26 and was sent to Korea to fight in the war. Rufo later went on to fight in The Vietnam War during his 20+ year career in The United States Army. Rufo retired from The Army as a Sergeant First Class E-7. After the Army, Rufo went on to have another career with The Clover Park School District in Lakewood, Washington as a Maintenance worker in which he also retired from. Rufo had a deep passion for Fishing, Clamming, Crabbing, Oystering, Gardening, Ballroom Dancing, Singing, Building, Billiards and Ping Pong where he won multiple titles in the tournaments in the Military. He was an avid Boxing and Basketball fan who loved The Seattle Supersonics, Sugar Ray Leonard and Manny Pacquiao. Rufo had 8 siblings; Eunice, Brijido, Tomasa, Valentina, Helena, Rodolfo, Consuelo, and Esperanza. With his first wife, Carmelita, he had 4 children (Rufo, Patrick, Evelyn and Erik) and 4 Children-in-laws (Candy, Sue, Glen and Vanessa) and a Stepdaughter (Sherlimagne) with his current wife, Joselita. Rufo had 10 Grandchildren (Stephanie, Rebecca, Ryan, Cory, Tehani, Kailani, Presley, Arturo, Mariah, and Samantha) and 6 Great Grandchildren (Ryder and Fynlee from Stephanie and Kris, Fancy and Crew from Rebecca and Jordan, and Alden and Rylend from Ryan and Jazarae). Rufo leaves behind a legacy that will forever be remembered. His courage, compassion, strength, valor, and craftsmanship is an inspiration to us all.
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