TRINIDAD Q. ALCONCEL
FORMER PHILIPPINE CONSUL GENERALDiplomat served
two terms in HawaiiMore obituaries
Trinidad Q. Alconcel, 89, former Philippine consul general in Honolulu and Philippine ambassador to Argentina, died Thursday at his home in Honolulu.
The Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu said in a news release that Alconcel's "service and loyalty to the country and the Filipino people reflects true patriotism and greatness."
Alconcel was born in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur, and graduated cum laude and salutatorian from the University of Manila. He joined the Philippine foreign service in the 1940s and served nine years with the Department of Foreign Affairs, from 1947 to 1956. He was a senior assistant, then chief of division in the department.
He was assigned to Honolulu in 1966 with the rank of career minister and consul general. He was promoted to chief of mission in 1972 and transferred to San Francisco in 1973.
He returned to Hawaii in 1976 as consul general when his wife, Soledad, was diagnosed with cancer. He was elected dean of the consular corps of Honolulu in 1971 and 1980, introducing "innovative measures that benefited and gained recognition for the foreign consuls in Hawaii," the consulate said.
"Alconcel is well loved by the Filipino community in the state of Hawaii for his various efforts to promote greater rapport among community members," it said.
Alconcel's last posting was in 1984, when he served a couple years as Philippine ambassador to Argentina, with jurisdiction over Uruguay and Paraguay.
Survivors include his second wife, Jocelyn; four sons, Steevens, Shermann, Romeo and Cecilio; four daughters, Solita Kangleon, Angelina Barrientos, Jenny Quezon and Victoria; two sisters, Socorro Alvarez and Avelina Cabana; 13 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and other relatives, nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements are pending.