Noel Tetsuo Enoki's Obituary
Noel Tetsuo Enoki, of Union City, succumbed to a five-month ordeal with cancer 66 years 11 months after his birth in Agana Heights, Guam. Formerly Environmental Laboratory Manager at the San Jose Environmental Services Department, he was 10 months into retirement. He had planned his first trip to Palau, his mother’s birthplace; intended to tackle home maintenance and improvement projects; and looked forward to spoiling his grandkids that brought him such joy and watching them grow.
Like his mother, Noel loved cooking for others and seeing them enjoy what he had prepared. From his small kitchen came catering proportions of restaurant-quality, made-from-scratch gastronomic creations. His ribs were legendary and his kelaguen once moved a Chamorro expatriate to tears. Wherever he traveled, he cooked for his hosts and taught them his techniques. He sometimes left them his recipes and bought them specialty appliances. Like his father and brother before him, he was quick to help someone in need. He mentored and counseled many in his orbit. Honest and genuine, generous and kind, quiet and unobtrusive, humble and selfless, he always placed others before himself. When he loved you, he might not verbalize it, but showed it through his actions, and you knew. That is his legacy: demonstrating love in his quiet way, rather than just mouthing the words.
He was preceded in death by his father Osamu and brother Edward. Surviving him are his mother and hero, Yoshie Shishido; his wife and best friend, Marie Bamba; the sons he took such pride in, Morey (Michelle) and Joel (Kieu “Kelly”); the grand-children he adored: Nolan, Audrey, and Aya; his favorite (only) sister Irene Takami; his brothers Bart Shishido and Marc Shishido; brothers and sisters in law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family scattered across California, Hawaii, Guam, Palau, and Japan
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