Ex-senator Rasa, 67, comes home

Former Senate President Ponciano Cruz Rasa, who passed away on Jan. 8 (Hawaii time), has come home.

Rasa, born on Nov. 19, 1938, was an early North Shore big-wave surfer, slack-key guitar player, Micronesia’s “Surfing Senator” and a land-use expert, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.

“My dad was a great surfer for 20 years,” said Nina, the 25-year-old daughter of the former senator.

Rasa died Sunday at The Queen’s Medical Center following a long illness. He was 67.

Nina denied an earlier report that his father died of cancer, saying her father had been battling various illnesses for the past 10 years.

“He was paraplegic for a long time. My father suffered from many complications,” she said, adding that her dad was also a diabetic, which might have contributed to his passing.

Rasa’s body arrived at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International yesterday afternoon. Nina said her mother, Vivian, flew back with her dad’s remains. Rasa’s body was escorted to the Nuestra Dela Paz Memorial Chapel along Beach Road.

The public will have a chance to pay their respects to the late senator starting today at 7:30am at the Mt. Carmel Cathedral.

A “Responso Service” will be held at 8am followed by a “Holy Rosary” at 8:30am then a Mass will be held at 10am. Interment will follow at the Chalan Kanoa Cemetery.

Rasa transferred to the University of Hawaii from the University of Guam in 1961, and finished his undergraduate degree in land matters at Hawaii Pacific University. Throughout his career, Rasa worked on land projects in Hawaii and throughout Micronesia.

He was featured in a number of surfing magazines and made his mark early, “along with such friends as Eddie and Clyde Aikau, on the North Shore’s monster waves.”

Rasa left Hawaii in the late 1970s, but always returned to whenever possible. In 1981 he was elected to the Senate of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

The members of the CNMI Legislature recognized the former Senate president during the House and Senate inauguration on Jan. 9. CNMI leaders offered a moment of silence to pray for the late senator.

Rasa is survived by his wife, Vivian; sons Steven and Ponce; daughters Nina, Melina, Vivian, Christina and Ioanis; and nine grandchildren.