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Deacon Taulafoga “Al” Leasiolagi, who served for 29 years at St. John Vianney parish in the Bronx, died Jan. 26. He was 89.
Deacon Leasiolagi served at St. John Vianney, 1983-2012. He was involved in the sacramental and liturgical life of the parish, the bereavement and prayer ministry, and the youth and young adult ministry. He visited the homebound and nursing homes, and coordinated the altar servers. He was also an avid singer with the parish choirs.
Born in American Samoa, he was ordained to the permanent diaconate by Cardinal Terence Cooke in 1983.
Deacon Leasiolagi served in the U.S. Army, earning a Bronze Star and Combat Badge during the Korean War.
His children, Gale, Andy, Daniel and Kathleen, survive him. His wife, Antonia, predeceased him.
A Funeral Mass was offered Feb. 1 at St. Gertrude’s Church, Bayville. His cousin, Deacon Francis Leasiolagi, a permanent deacon from Hawaii, delivered the homily. Burial was in St. Raymond Cemetery, the Bronx.
