Birth date: Jul 14, 1942 Death date: Feb 22, 2023
Buena Harding Obituary Buena Arcena Harding, 80, of Mililani, Hawaii, passed away on February 22, 2023. She was born on July 14, 1942 in Cavite, Philippines. She is survived by her husband, Arthur Kluvo; son, Norman Harding (Mad Read Obituary
Arthur A Kluvo
We were fortunate to meet Buena on their family visits to Ohio. She was a genuine person with a great warming smile.
My grandma was a kind and caring person. She would call to check up on every one of her kids and grandchildren to see how they were doing and to say she loved us. She was a constant in all of our lives that brought us much joy and many fond memories. I’m gonna miss her…
There are so many memories… and all are my favorites, from the first time I met her because I was dating her daughter, I thought she hated me, but she was only protecting her daughter. She would always give me a hard time, and keep me on my toes and I would do the same. She was only looking out for building my character to make sure no matter what life throws at me I would take care of her daughter. Her and I had a bitter sweet relationship, always going against my decisions as a front, but behind closed doors she was always cheering me on. Just like she would love to cheer for the opposite team from me, even though she wasn’t a fan, just to make things interesting. We would talk a lot especially if I was in Mililani after work, and we would just hang out, those were some of my favorite times and of course all our holiday and family special occasions were always great. The last time I had with her was we had a big get together with family get visiting from the mainland and that day was so awesome, she was so happy that we was all together and she a had a great time and so did everyone. I know she is so proud of me and took me in as her son. I miss her dearly, It’s hard to lose your heroes in life and she was a superhero to her grandchildren, to me and to my wife. Mom we miss and love you. â™¥ï¸ Chuck
i remember when my grandma would call me my moms nickname “Naj†and when i turned 11 she told me “Naj, i’m gonna teach you how to drive.†i got confused and my mom (Nadia Sakuda) had to tell her not to. And i remember all the silly memories of my mom and uncle. The one that she would talk about the most is the time my mom was in soccer and got hit in the face by the soccer ball. i liked when she would show me all the pictures of our family and she was one of the coolest grandmas tbh. i miss her a lot and i wish i took more advantage of the time i had. miss you grandma. -Hana or Naj
MomI’m going to write about my mother’s life’s proudest moments.When putting my thoughts to paper about this, I realized how interesting Mom’s life was. I don’t know why it took so long. Mom was born in 1942, during WW2, in Japanese occupied Philippines.She was from Cavite, in Luzon Provence, south of Manila. At the time, Cavite was a small rural village. They had to carry all their water in buckets. They didn’t have electricity or flush toilets.What I remember about mom’s childhood from her favorite stories is: She was one of 8 children. The eldest was a sister who was more like a mom because mom & dad were busy working in the family’s shop. Mom liked to tell us that we were lucky here in Hawaii because in the Philippines, the snakes & giant lizards would pop out and scare her. In mom’s whole village, there was only one television, and they all would gather in the neighbors yard to watch at the window. Christmas time one of mom’s favorite times growing up. The village would get together to reenact Jesus’ nativity story. Mom missed all the traditional Filipino decor.Because of her humble beginnings, mom had a lot to overcome. She was so proud:She went to school. It was a privilege. Not everyone got to go. For high school, she had to leave home and live with cousins for 4 years to go to a good school in Manila. AND mom especially like to tell us that she was in one of the top classes.She finished college. While her roommates were partying, she was sober and drug free (and remained that way for her entire life), but made money running errands they were too busy partying to do.Mom became a teacher. The career was not her first choice, but one her family could afford.She taught a wide age range of primary school students in one class (there were over 30).During her time as a teacher, she fearlessly faced a school shooter and no one was hurt. Mom loved her students, and 50 years later, on a trip back home, one of her students recognized her. That made mom happy to be thought of and loved after all these years.Mom was proud of the job she did as a teacher, but she wasn’t a teacher very long. She wanted something different, something more. She wanted out of the rural country province.She soon began working for U.S. government at the naval base in Subic Bay.Hourly, made a lot for a Filipina, butMade less than an American teenage summer hire.So she made side money as a seamstress making clothes for others.Bought a propertyPaid for her sister to go to school.Met my dad DAD was a complicated mess. He was an alcoholic and married, but mom said that when she saw my dad, she knew he was the one. Dad had no clue. Mom waited patiently for him, and when she finally had his attention she:Cleaned him up, inspired him to be sober and quit smoking.Straightened out his finances.Their courtship wasn’t long.Soon mom was off on 3 BIG ADVENTURES in rapid succession: She married a white dude (in the 70’s interracial marriages might still have been frowned upon by BOTH sides). She became a first time mom (all moms know what an adventure motherhood is)! She moved to a foreign country (here to Oahu) where: She knew no oneNo grandparents or other family to help raise kids or keep her companyThe North shore was “countryâ€, and isolated, especially since mom couldn’t drive.We were a mixed race family among all white neighbors (until we moved to Mililani)We lived beachfront life, but mom could not swim! How was she going to save us kids if we were swept out?But of course nothing can stop my stubborn fighter of a mom. In 1984, mom became a naturalized US citizen, which means she knows more about the US government than I do.When mom was in her 40s, she learned how to drive a car. It took her many many many times before she finally passed her drivers test.Mom was a stay at home mother until Norm was nine. When she went back to wo
Most long suffering, and loving mother ever, for a worthless son, who gave her so much grief. Praise Jesus these last years I was restored to her and was able to have some much needed, made up time. She will never be passed away to me, but alive forever more! Only God could have known this wretched son, NEEDED her to be my mother. How grateful I am. Praise Jesus! Love you forever my beautiful mother…
MomBy her daughter, Nadia.I’m going to write about my mother’s proudest moments.When putting my thoughts to paper about this, I realized how interesting Mom’s life was. I don’t know why it took so long. Mom was born in 1942, during WW2, in Japanese occupied Philippines.She was from Cavite, in Luzon Provence, south of Manila. At the time, Cavite was a small rural village. They had to carry all their water in buckets. They didn’t have electricity or flush toilets.What I remember about mom’s childhood from her favorite stories is: She was one of 8 children. The eldest was a sister who was more like a mom because mom & dad were busy working in the family’s shop. Mom liked to tell us that we were lucky here in Hawaii because in the Philippines, the snakes & giant lizards would pop out and scare her. In mom’s whole village, there was only one television, and they all would gather in the neighbors yard to watch at the window. Christmas time one of mom’s favorite times growing up. The village would get together to reenact Jesus’ nativity story. Mom missed all the traditional Filipino decor.Because of her humble beginnings, mom had a lot to overcome. She was so proud:She went to school. It was a privilege. Not everyone got to go. For high school, she had to leave home and live with cousins for 4 years to go to a good school in Manila. AND mom especially like to tell us that she was in one of the top classes.She finished college. While her roommates were partying, she was sober and drug free (and remained that way for her entire life), but made money running errands they were too busy partying to do.Mom became a teacher. The career was not her first choice, but one her family could afford.She taught a wide age range of primary school students in one class (there were over 30).During her time as a teacher, she fearlessly faced a school shooter and no one was hurt. Mom loved her students, and 50 years later, on a trip back home, one of her students recognized her. That made mom happy to be thought of and loved after all these years.Mom was proud of the job she did as a teacher, but she wasn’t a teacher very long. She wanted something different, something more. She wanted out of the rural country province.She soon began working for U.S. government at the naval base in Subic Bay.Hourly, made a lot for a Filipina, butMade less than an American teenage summer hire.So she made side money as a seamstress making clothes for others.Bought a propertyPaid for her sister to go to school.Met my dad DAD was a complicated mess. He was an alcoholic and married, but mom said that when she saw my dad, she knew he was the one. Dad had no clue. Mom waited patiently for him, and when she finally had his attention she:Cleaned him up, inspired him to be sober and quit smoking.Straightened out his finances.Their courtship wasn’t long.Soon mom was off on 3 BIG ADVENTURES in rapid succession: She married a white dude (in the 70’s interracial marriages might still have been frowned upon by BOTH sides). She became a first time mom (all moms know what an adventure motherhood is)! She moved to a foreign country (here to Oahu) where: She knew no oneNo grandparents or other family to help raise kids or keep her companyThe North shore was “countryâ€, and isolated, especially since mom couldn’t drive.We were a mixed race family among all white neighbors (until we moved to Mililani)We lived beachfront life, but mom could not swim! How was she going to save us kids if we were swept out?But of course nothing can stop my stubborn fighter of a mom. In 1984, mom was extremely proud when she became a naturalized US citizen, which means she knows more about the US government than I do.When mom was in her 40s, she learned how to drive a car. It took her many many many times before she finally passed her drivers test. She was always mentioning how that was the b
Whenever I think of Buena, I think of her with a big smile, a warm hug, and always something nice to say. I met Buena several times over the years on visits to Hawaii to see my husband's half siblings and their kids (cousins). Buena treated Charles, me, and our two kids like family. I always enjoyed her company and her stories. We were honored to be with her the day before she passed at a wonderful family gathering at her house with family and friends on our vacation to Hawaii in February. Her passing was so unexpected, but I know she passed having spent a wonderful day with her extended family.I wish we could have spent more time together and gotten to know her better, but I will cherish the fun memories I have with Buena and Art. Thanks for sharing time with us. I know you'll be smiling down and watching over us from above. Wendy Dunlap-Harding (step daughter-in-law)Charles Harding (step son)Calvin Harding (step grandson)Cordelia Harding (step granddaughter)
Momma Buena was like a second mom to me and I enjoyed being in her company along with the discussions we had throughout the years. She would call often just to check on us in the mainland and I always felt like she was watching over her clan. I feel like she's watching over us now as I write this.I first met Buena when Dad, Peter was stationed at NAVSEEACTPHIL at Subic Bay in the Philippines and I moved from Hawaii to live with Dad during my Sophomore year in High School. At the time she was Dad's secretary and kept him well organized. A trait that came in hand, once they were married and I was with them in Cavite when they tied the knot. Buena loved the idea of owning real estate and over the years, she and I would spend many hours driving around the Island looking at properties and contemplating the possibilities. It was fun to dream and a great excuse to spend time together. We were able to made some of those dreams become a reality and that tradition continues with us kids as one of her legacies.I will always be grateful to Momma Buena for helping Dad to be the best version of himself. She believed in him and loved him unconditionally, there made a great team. Together they raised two loving children, my brother and sister Norman and Nadia. If I had one word to describe them it would be heart. In the most recent years, the love that Momma Buena had shared with Dad was returned in a magical way when she met Arthur, who doted over her, cared for her, and loved her with all his heart. That saying of what goes around, comes around is true.We are lucky to have Art in our life and he was such a blessing to Momma Buena. Another match made in heaven. Both, with her as the common denominator.I take comfort as a Christian that she was a good and faithful servant and that she is home now.God Speed Momma Buena, I miss you.
