Mariano Ang 歐陽勝利

Mariano Ang 歐陽勝利 passed away on March 22nd, 2023 from complications with cancer treatment, surrounded by his family. He was 85 years old.

Mariano was born to the late Ouyang Zhongying and Wang Wu Xiao on June 22nd, 1937 in Manila, Philippines. He was the fourth of nine children. When he was four, Mariano’s childhood was violently interrupted by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. For the next four years, Mariano spent much of his life hiding and running with his family from Japanese soldiers and air raids. These formative years shaped Mariano into an unflappable, pragmatic, frugal, and patriotic man. Often taking the role of calm observer, Mariano rolled through life with a quiet tranquility. Yet he also had a knack for making those around him break out in laughter with his offbeat humor at the most unexpected times. 

During his early adult years, Mariano was the student body president at Philippine Chinese High School and led fundraising efforts to help students in need of financial aid. He then went on to study mathematics at Xiamen University in China. After graduating, Mariano began working at the Chinese Oversees Committee and eventually became head of the organization. During his thirties, Mariano endured the Cultural Revolution in China and eventually moved to Hong Kong in 1977 for one year before returning to the Philippines and opening a vermicelli factory with a business partner. 

Mariano met his great love, Heide Lee, in the Philippines in 1981. A year later, he followed her to Boston, Massachusetts. They were married in 1983 and had their first son, March, in 1984. These early years were marked by his steadfast dedication to his family. He worked long hours at the Boston Harbor Hotel and spent off hours on the train transporting March to and from his childcare in Boston to their Central Square condo in Cambridge. Together they worked hard and lived frugally, saving and earning money however they could, including renting out two bedrooms in their lived-in condo for two years. By sheer determination, they scrimped  together enough to buy a home in Inman Square, Cambridge, where they lived until his passing. In 1988, Mariano and Heide welcomed their second son, Marvel, into the world. Their perseverance, resiliency, and requisite approach to life, though sometimes looked upon sideways by us, their sons, gave us the foundation for the lives we have now.

As we grew up, our dad took over a dry cleaners on BU campus. He worked tirelessly running the business and managing condos nearby that they had invested in, all the while ensuring we got to the seemingly endless activities, lessons, and practices that we had in our busy schedules. From taking us to the Museum of Science, shooting hoops at the park, swimming lessons, piano lessons, dulcimer lessons, basketball practices, road trips, cooking us delicious meals, watching Jordan on TV, teaching us to drive, our dad was always there when we needed him but never intrusive when we didn’t. He was also a lifelong basketball fan and instilled the love of the game in us. In addition to Celtics and Bulls games, we would also spend hours watching pro wrestling with our father, against our mom’s better judgment and will. Dad loved Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. He was a kind, mild-mannered father who quietly provided consistent stability in our lives and taught us, through example, how to persevere through any obstacle.  

Our dad was also a constant tinkerer and problem solver. But he wasn’t one to look up instructions. Instead, he insisted on finding whatever he could nearby to fix it. Always the pragmatist with little care for aesthetics, the end result often looked like scenes from a cheerfully dystopian universe: bag straps to fix cushions to chairs, an analog clock attached with wire from a standing lamp pole missing its lamp, a heavy painting hung using rope jury rigged around the edges of the frame that was simultaneously sturdy and precarious-looking.

After selling the dry cleaners in 1995, our dad focused his time on managing properties, sun bathing, perfecting his solitaire skills, supporting us, and, of course, driving our mom crazy. He spent the later part of his life traveling the world and the United States with our mom. 

Above all, our dad was the consummate fighter and survivor. He fought off two separate bouts of cancer over the last eight years. He faced each visit to the doctors with a smile on his face that told us all everything would be okay. Even at the end, 48 hours after the doctors told us he would not wake up again, he opened his eyes, as if to say “let’s go another round,” giving us another two weeks with him. He will be forever remembered for this fighting spirit, his stoicism, and his unpredictable humor. 

Mariano is survived by his loving wife, Heide Lee, his beloved sons March Ang of Medford and Marvel Ang and his wife Dora of California and his cherished grandchildren Marsden and Marisa Gonzalez Ang. He was predeceased by his elder brothers Ouyang Anren, Ouyang Binghuang, Ouyang Dikang.

Visitation will be held at the Tirrell Room (Hamel-Lydon 安泰大禮堂), 254 Quarry Street, Quincy, MA beginning at 10am directly followed by a memorial service beginning at 11:45am on Saturday, April 8th, 2023.

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* To order traditional Chinese floral arrangements with white ribbons, please contact Bella Florist 媚園花鋪, 125 Charles Street, Boston or 617.338.6888 directly.