Obituary of Samuel N. Tangonan

On Tuesday, October 25, 2011, Samuel Nicholas Tangonan went to be with the Lord. His wife was at his bedside. Sam resided at Cameron Glen located in Reston, Virginia. Sam was born June 6, 1944 in Luzon, Philippines to Victoriano (Victor) Somawang and Leonila (Nita) Bernardo Nicholas. He came to the United States with his parents when he was a young child. Sam spent his childhood in Norfolk, Virginia. A job transfer moved Sam to Tallahassee, Florida and fate introduced him to his future wife, Marilyn Major. Sam attended Tallahassee Community College where he earned his associates degree. After their marriage in 1970 and several moves back and forth across the country, Sam and Marilyn began to build their lives in Reston, Virginia in 1976. Sam developed his love of the beach and surfing while growing up in Norfolk. Often times you could find him in a chess match with his father. He later taught his children and eldest grandson to play as his opponent. Sam was very involved in martial arts, particularly Wing Chun Kung Fu. He enjoyed bicycling and shared this love with his grandson and neighbor. His biggest involvement was with the Church of the Epiphany, which he and Marilyn joined in 1987. He served in many capacities, but really enjoyed running the coffee hour. Sam was most recently employed by General Dynamics, where he was working on the Pentagon restoration project. Sam is survived by his wife Marilyn and their children Lee, Kelly and Jessica. He is also survived by his 5 grandchildren Corey, Brandon Olivia, Lianila and Liam, sisters Vikki Lorentzen and Nanci Yoshino as well as son's-in-law Rob Baumgartner and Mike Smurda. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at Church of the Epiphany in Herndon, Virginia at 7:00pm. The family would like to celebrate Sam's life and ask that attendees forego wearing black and suggest wearing white. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sam Tangonan Memorial Fund. Please make checks payable to 'Church of the Epiphany' and in the memo field, enter 'Tangonan Memorial'.