by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - Family, friends and island leaders bid farewell to former senator and historian Tony Palomo this morning during a state memorial service at the Guam Legislature. Former senator and close friend Eddie Duenas delivered this morning's eulogy, saying their lives were parallel, having both graduated from Marquette University, worked as the Guam Daily News and served together in the 14th and 15th Guam Legislatures.

He said, "I think Tony is like an open book. He has a good sense of humor and if you get to know him he'll open up and he's very cordial, very personable and very likeable but most of all he's very humble and doesn't boast."

Department of Chamorro Affairs director Joseph Cameron says his uncle Tony will leave behind a legacy of telling authentic stories of the Chamorro culture and the people of Guam. "He was a very gentle, humble guy who never hardly spoke unless he was provided the vendor and any venue he spoke on was primarily telling the Chamorro story, that was Tony Palomo. He told the Chamorro story," Cameron explained.

Palomo is a survivor of the Japanese Occupation, a former journalists and served as the director of the Guam Museum for several years. He served in the 12th, 14th and 15 Legislatures and wrote the book "An Island In Agony," which was published in 1984. He was 81 years old.