Adolfo (Adam) Escalona

Adolfo (Adam) Escalona peacefully passed away surrounded by family at the age of 88 on July 19, 2023 at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle after a brief illness. Born on December 15, 1934 in Cavite City, Philippines, he was the eldest of six children to Fortunato and Loreta (Custodio) Escalona. His grandfather, Macario Tolentino, helped raise him and he credits his grandfather with teaching him to be a good person and how to respect other people. As a young boy he endured the WWII occupation of his native country and he suffered a shrapnel wound from bombing during its liberation. As a young man he met and married his first wife Conchita Quemuel and they had a daughter Arnelli.

After a short stint in the Philippine Navy where he trained as an airplane mechanic, he enlisted in the US Navy in 1955 and served for 23 years before retiring in 1978 as a Senior Chief and Vietnam Veteran. He began his career as a steward and ended it managing commissary stores in the San Francisco Bay area. Among his other assignments were serving aboard the destroyer Samuel N. Moore, and the carriers Kitty Hawk, Ranger, and Enterprise. He was also stationed at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. He became a naturalized US citizen in 1969.

He made Bremerton home where he met his second wife Edna Marlene Escalona (née Francisco), a Bremerton native. She went by Marlene and they were married in 1965 having two sons, Adam and Aaron, and also raising Toni, Alena, and Alicia from her first marriage. Marlene preceded him in death in 2015 after a 50-year marriage.

After the Navy he worked for Boeing for a year and then as a warehouse clerk at Subbase Bangor before retiring permanently in the mid-1990s. Via the GI Bill he earned an Associate of Arts degree from Olympic Community College. He loved salmon fishing, especially at Point No Point where among his many catches (and skunkings) was a 39-pound king salmon. He took up photography and was a member of the F:67 Camera Club. He took pride in his mechanical skills and his ability to fix the family cars. He traveled extensively with Marlene to China, Spain, Costa Rica, and many other places, and he took solo trips for photography including Russia. He spent his final years at Bay Pointe Retirement Community in Bremerton.

In addition to his parents and wife Marlene, he was preceded in death by son Aaron Escalona, and siblings Bienvenido (Ben), Cecilie, Danilo, and Emelinda.

Adam is survived by daughter Arnelli Skeeter (Oscar); son Adam Escalona; stepdaughters Toni Santos (Ray Berryman), Alena Santos (Jeff Knudsen), and Alicia Nizzardi (Vincent); brother Felix Escalona; grandchildren Jeric Skeeter, Javie Skeeter (Leah), Alexandria Nizzardi (Craig Noll), Amanda Branch, and Andy Knudsen; great-granddaughter Celestine Skeeter; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He will be interred with his parents at the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery in Santa Clara, California on August 19, 2023 and 10:00 AM.