Antonio M. (Tony) Dualan, at 93 years old, passed on Wednesday, Dec. 30th, 2020, in Las Vegas, NV. Born in Cavite City, Philippines. He is survived by his wife, Lucille Dualan, which he was married to for 67 years and met through military service while stationed in Newport, RI.
Antonio served in the US Navy for 33 years reaching the rank of Chief Petty Officer (E9). Through his service he worked on aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines such as the U.S.S. Triton, serving in WW2 and Vietnam wars as a chef. A major distinction of his service career was being able to be one of several chefs cooking for Presidents Truman and Kennedy. At the time of his retirement, he oversaw the officer’s club in Newport where his men nicknamed him “Tony the Tiger” for his attention to detail and work ethic.
In retirement, Antonio opened a family operated restaurant in Wareham, Mass., for several years before expanding to a hotel restaurant in Onset, Mass. He then operated a cafeteria in Peterson/Puritan manufacturing company located in Cumberland, RI for many years. He was a people person who took pride and pleasure in seeing people gather and enjoy his cuisine which was inspired by his Filipino background and his various cultural experiences in traveling with the military. Through working with him in his restaurant he inspired several of his family members to follow his example and share their love of cooking with others.
In addition to his wife Lucille, he survived by 4 siblings, 6 children, 13 grandchildren, and 18 great grandchildren. He was deeply loved by many and he will be greatly missed. Antonio will be buried with full military honors.