Helen Alayaay Dacut

On Saturday, January 5, 2019, Helen Alayaay Dacut, loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, passed away at the age of 87. Helen was born on September 6, 1931 to Paulino and Margarita Alayaay in Wahiawa, HI. She graduated from Waipahu High School in 1948 and married Antonio 'Tony' Dacut on November 11, 1950. Together they raised their 6 children, Toni, Deb, Gerry, Margaret, Ralph and Michele, and as a Navy family lived in the following cities/states: Pearl City, HI; Seattle, WA; San Diego, Alameda, Harbor City, Torrance, and Long Beach, CA.

Helen had a beautiful singing voice and in her youth sang at various places throughout the Hawaiian Islands with her sisters, Mary and Maggie, accompanied by her father's Filipino band. In high school she was known as, 'the Song Bird of Waipahu High', and won 1st place for the radio talent show contest, 'Everybody's Hour' in Honolulu. Helen was very social and made friends easily in every city they lived in. She was an avid bowler for many years, played Bingo whenever the opportunity arose, enjoyed traveling with family and friends, and loved to dance with her beloved husband Tony! Helen was a stay-at-home mom until 1965 and began working as a grocery checker for Food Co. Markets in Torrance, Lynwood, and Gardena for over 15 years. She then worked at Toyota Motor Federal Credit Union in Torrance for over 6 years. She retired to Las Vegas in 1988 after Tony passed away. In 1998, Helen moved to Omaha, NE to live with her daughter Deb, and eventually moved with Deb and her family to Mesa, AZ. Helen was diagnosed with throat cancer, a slow growing disease, and as her health continued to decline over the course of several years, Deb became her main caregiver until October 2018 when Helen needed 24 hour care. She was the proud and devoted matriarch to her family, whom she loved deeply, and a loyal friend to many. Helen will be greatly missed by all.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents, loving husband Tony, daughter Sandra, sisters/brothers-in-law Mary and Joseph Daguman, Maggie and Raymond Gragas, and brother-in-law Samuel Tomontong. She is survived by her children, Toni (Jon) Wyatt, Deb (Mic) Doyle, Gerry Dacut (Janice Hatanaka), Margaret Dacut (Stefanie Oda), Ralph (Dawn) Dacut, and Michele (Dave) Homer; grandchildren Kelly (Scott) Devlin, Lauren and Erin Doyle, Alyssa, Janae, Chris and Jenna Dacut, Lindsay Crawford, Teresa Homer; great grandchildren Caden Dacut and Brianna Devlin; sisters Evelyn Tomontong of Mililani, HI, Ann (Tony) Finder of Chicago, IL; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2019, 9:30AM at Forest Lawn – Long Beach, 1500 East San Antonio Drive, Long Beach, CA 90807
In lieu of flowers/monetary gifts, the family requests donations are made in memory of Helen Dacut to:
Americare Hospice Foundation
1212 N. Spencer Street, Suite 2
Mesa, AZ 85203


. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Long Beach ,California.