Jack Alalagafa Tauanu’u

Family and Friends,
Thank you all for coming to visit our father and being a part of his life.

This was his eulogy that was read by his children, Jack Jr., Ryan and Salu.

Our dad was born on October 27, 1963. He was born and raised in Nu’uuli, American Samoa by his beloved grandmother Fa’asalusalu Iupati and his uncles, Apose, Itula, and Asora also known as the babysitter.

Dad had an inseparable bond with his grandmother and stayed with her until the age of 10, where he came to the states to be with his parents Fauolo and Lua Tauanuu. Dad was the 5th of 7 children and grew up in Garden Grove, CA where he attended Woodbury Elementary. Upon his arrival to the states dad did not speak any English and would frequently get into fights at school for being made fun of for his broken English. The first words he learned were stand up, sit down and a few cuss words.

Dad graduated from Santiago High school in 1982 where he was crowned prom king & Mr. Caballero. After graduating high school, he went to Fullerton JC college to play baseball where he was signed to the Oakland A’s AAA farm team playing alongside Jose Canseco and Mark Mcquire. Dad was a left-handed pitcher; clocked in at 95+ MPH, labeled “The Throwin Samoan”

I remember one time when my brother and I were in little league they had a home run derby and dad entered it. Dad was up to bat and hit the ball so far that it actually hit a moving car out in the street. The car stopped to see what had happened and as the car turned back around, dad hit the same car again. The league ended up having to pay for the damages of 2 broken windows, after that due to insurance reasons they stopped hosting parent home run derbies.

In 1984 he met the love of his life, our mom Kristie they met at a high school party, she was in her freshman year of high school and let’s just say dad was a little older than her. They married in this very church on Sept 10, 1988. Then came the 3 of us. We did it all, basketball, baseball, track n field and of course football where dad was part of the chain gang. Dad taught us so much and was known for his many phrases, and teachings, he would always make us repeat these 5 quotes:

1. Practice – Makes Perfect.
2. Always – Pay Attention
3. The Hand – Is Quicker Than the Eye
4. Concentration – Is the Name Of The Game
and last but not least, number
5. You Got To - Believe

Dad had a great/terrible sense of humor.

Dad was a proud Local 416 Ironworker and worked on many jobs. I can remember dad coming home from a hard day of work with blisters on his shoulders from having to carry that hot rebar followed by asking one of us, “can you take off my socks” then of course cracking open that bottle of Old E to ease the pain. Dad built the John Wayne airport, California Adventure, Chapman University Football field and parking garage, Arrowhead Pond also known as the Honda Center and countless high rises and bridges. Didn't matter how many times we drove on the 405, 55, 5, or 22 freeways, Dad never failed, he always made sure to remind us - “Hey, I built that building, Hey I built that building with your uncle Ben” He was so proud of his work, and so were we. So, when you pass by these places, remember, “Our dad built that.”

Dad had many hobbies. He loved rock balancing and people were amazed at his work, as were we. He’d teach us to balance the rocks and practice patience, but if we made them fall, we’d have to do 10 pushups, then fix it no matter how big or how long it took. Dad loved martial arts, he would practice Bruce Lee routines with his notorious headband and nun chucks tucked in his waste. He also loved playing the bongos, drawing, and his daily walks with his best friend, our dog Cali.

Dad loved family time and spending Sundays watching football with us. He loved his Raiders.

Going to miss our Sunday gatherings to watch NFL Sunday.

Dad loved being a papa to his grandchildren. RJ always loved to come to Papas and went straight for the fridge because he knew there would be a box of Haagen dazs ice cream and guava juice to bring home because papa always made sure of it. And if RJ checked and there wasn’t any ice cream, he would walk to the store just to buy some.

As most of you know our dad suffered a massive stroke the day after Thanksgiving. Dad spent 42 days in ICU and we were told he probably wouldn’t wake up. But what the Doctors didn’t know is that our dads was a fighter. He was paralyzed on his left side and had to be put on life support followed by emergency brain surgery. Doctors also said he may not be able to talk or remember parts of his life or family. Our dad proved the doctors wrong and woke up. He also started to talk and remembered all of us clearly. He was able to smile at us, make us laugh and tell us that he loves us.

Eventually he was transferred to a sub-acute facility where he spent almost 9 months. Here again, dad was the most loved patient. Making friends with everyone. All the nurses loved and adored dad because he was always so kind to them and made them laugh. He would ask mom to give him some money to pass out to them. The day he was discharged the nurses lined up to say goodbye to dad with tears in their eyes telling him they were going to miss him. They would call or text mom checking up on him, said the place is too quiet without him.

We frequently visited him in the hospital and one time as we were walking towards his room, we heard him asking one of the nurses if she could give him a ride home. His sense of humor was still going strong.

On Sept 7, 2023 we brought dad home.

We had a denying feeling that dad knew that he was ready to be with Jesus because within the last few weeks he kept asking for his beloved grandma Salu and appeared to be waving to her at times. Our dad fought long and hard to be with us as long as he could. He defied all odds, but waited for his Beloved Grandma Salu and our Lord and Savior to greet him before he took his last breath peacefully with mom and my siblings by his side.

Our dad was known by many as a humble and quiet family man. Seeing so many people here to say goodbye to Dad today, shows just how loved he was and how much he will be missed.

I learned that the most important things he had was us, his family. We love you dad and will miss you dearly. Don’t worry about Mom, we will take care of her.