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Jose "Zecca" Asentista, formerly of Kahana Bay, Oahu, peacefully passed away on December 8, 2020 at the age of 94. He attended Kahuku High School, played Varsity football and led his graduating class of 1945 as Senior Class President and Valedictorian. He was drafted into the US Army and stationed in Dulag Leyte, Philippines. He later achieved an Aircraft and Engine Mechanic degree. He joined the US Air Force in 1950 and was stationed in Guam and Japan. In 1952, he married Shirley Kiam Chew Kam and the Air Force relocated them to the Philippines and then to Lincoln, NE. After retiring from the Air Force in 1959, he worked as an Aircraft Mechanic at Hawaiian Airlines, Hickam Air Force Base and Mid Pacific Airlines. He also worked at the Board of Water Supply. He later moved to San Francisco and found his dream job as an Aircraft Mechanic for United Airlines, where he retired in 1994. Jose was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Knights of Columbus. In 2018, he was awarded the World War II Filipino Veterans Congressional Gold Medal. He was a faithful parishioner at Our Lady of the MountCatholic Church. Jose was a volleyball player, carpenter, played craps in Las Vegas, tended his garden, and enjoyed his favorite restaurant, Liliha Bakery. Jose is survived by his wife, Shirley and five children, Llory, Cindy, Lisa, Sheri and Jay; as well as by sister, Lorie Anne; step mother, Anita; hanai children, Paulette Palmer and Thor Kamakaala; 14 grandchildren & 16 great grandchildren. He is predeceased by his parents, Lorenzo and Maria Asentista; hanai mother, Josephine Puni Gray; brother, Hesos and sister, Helen Johnson. Private services were held.
