Obituary of William P. Manlongat

William P. Manlongat December 05, 1935 - June 24, 2009 Amidst loving prayers of family, friends and clergy, my husband, William "Willy" P. Manlongat, passed on peacefully last Wednesday, June 24th, at Danbury Hospital. He was born in Baguio City, Philippines on December 5, 1935, the son of the late Pio and Modesta (Prado) Manlongat. Willy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1960 with a BS degree. Back home in the Philippines, he had tours of duty with the Philippine Army (Infantry), the Philippine Military Academy as instructor and later with the Corps of Engineers mostly involved in road and bridge construction throughout the archipelago. He received his Civil Engineering degree from St. Louis University also in the Philippines, garnering 2nd place in the national board exams for Civil Engineering in 1968. He retired from the Philippine Army as Colonel. Deeply committed to the welfare of his family while strengthening his engineering expertise, he worked with the government and private companies in the Philippines in real estate development and financial planning. He did a 5-year stint in Saudi Arabia as a construction engineer before migrating to the US in 1986, with the rest of the family following in 1988. In this country, he worked mostly in the construction business and, primarily, he joined me in strong partnership to guide the career development of our five children. Willy loved West Point and dearly kept his association with his former classmates as much as he could. He also maintained his membership in the Philippine Military Academy, Class '59. In retirement, he likewise enjoyed the camaraderie of his friends at the Filipino American Association of Western CT in Danbury. He was a parishioner of St. Joseph's Church in Brookfield, serving as a Eucharistic Minister and an usher. I will deeply miss Willy and our marriage of 43 years. So will our five children, George and his wife Martina of Humble, TX; Christine Marie Lantin and her husband, Jojo, of Bartlett, IL; Barbara Lee Chang of New York, NY; Natasha Maria Buchanan and her husband, Stephen, of Sudbury, MA; and Martin of Brookfield, CT. He has three grandchildren, Christian Lantin, Maya and Alyssa Buchanan. He is also survived by his four brothers, Thomas, Pio Jr., Robert and Justo Manlongat, and two sisters, Fe Navarro and Josefina Rivers. Funeral Information We will warmly receive family and friends at the Brookfield Funeral Home, 786 Federal Road in Brookfield on Sunday, June 28th, between the hours of 4:00pm and 7:00pm. As a loving farewell to Willy, a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and brother, a mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Monday, June 29th, at 10:00am at St. Joseph Church in Brookfield. Cremation and interment will take place at the convenience of the family. Donations Information In lieu of flowers, donations in Willy's memory may be made to: St. Joseph Church, Brookfield, CT 2009 Annual Bishop's Appeal; The Danbury Hospital Development Fund, Critical Care Unit, 24 Hospital Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810; or to the Danbury Dialysis Fund, c/o Danbury Hospital Dialysis Unit, 11 Osborne Street, Danbury, CT 06810.