John Wilfred Ogao

John Wilfred Ogao was born in Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii, on 7 August, 1942, to Margaret Gonsalves and Franklin Rivera Ogao. He passed away peacefully in the middle of the night on 10 September, 2020, in Tucson, Arizona. John was raised by his grandmother in Kauai until age 7, when he went to live with his mother and siblings. He learned to make do and work hard. He loved the mountains, loved to hunt, fish, and go spearing for lobster and eel. As a young man, John left Hawaii to join the army and become a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne. It was while in the army and stationed in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, that he met Loretta Martin, from Waipahu, Oahu. Loretta was a nurse and lieutenant in the army. Because John was enlisted and Loretta was an officer, one of them was required to leave the military if they stayed together. They were married on October 5, 1962 in Ft. Campbell, Tennessee and both were honorably discharged. They moved to Hayward, California, had two children, then moved a few years later to Waipahu, Oahu. John went back to school and attended Church College of Hawaii (later known as BYU-Hawaii) where he received his Bachelors degree in Industrial Arts. John and Loretta had three more children. He obtained his teaching certificate, then taught school and coached football at Nanakuli High School. They then left Hawaii and moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1978, where John received his Masters degree in Education Administration from Pacific Lutheran University and became a principal and sports coach for a small school in Tacoma. John decided to make a career change and in 1989 they moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona, where he went into law enforcement and became a Customs Inspector for the US Customs Service. He retired from that field in 2009. John is survived by his wife, Loretta, though they separated in 2013. He is also survived by his brother, Frank (Gail) Ogao, Jr.; sister, Joyce (Gerald) Nasario; children Tomi (Tim) Rand, Jon (Kori) Ogao; Naomi (John) MacFarlane; Miki Ogao, and Jared (Heidi) Ogao; 20 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. John’s ashes will be taken to Kauai, where he was born, and placed in Kekaha Cemetery near his grandparents.