Early Years
Parents Jose J. Babauta and Shannon J. Murphy
Siblings: Katrina Lucia Babauta Barnett (born 1975) and Ana Murphy Babauta (1983)
Born April 30, 1973 at Multnomah County Hospital, Portland, Oregon
Early Life
Leonardo (Leo) Babauta is the first child and only son of Jose Babauta and Shannon Murphy. The couple, from Guam, had moved to Portland six months before his birth so that Joe could attend Portland State College, sharing an apartment with their close friends, John Erhardt and Ramona Roberto. Shortly before Leo was born Jose and Shannon moved to a duplex in South East Portland off of Hawthorn Blvd.
When Leo was five months old the couple returned to Guam as they wanted their families to meet him. They stayed with the Murphy’s in Yona where he learned to swim at five months old in their new pool. Leo’s grandfather, Joe Murphy, was the editor of the Pacific Daily News and also wrote a popular daily column called Pipe Dreams. Leo’s grandmother, Marion Muth Murphy, was a kindergarten teacher in the public schools on Guam. The Murphy’s, a family of 10, moved to Guam in 1966 and raised their family in the southern villages of Hågat and Yona. The Murphy’s were originally from Neenah, Wisconsin but lived in various towns in Oregon and California before moving to Guam. Leo’s mother, Shannon, was the third eldest of eight.
Jose and Shannon met shortly after high school and decided to move to the West Coast as Jose had never left Guam before. They first lived in San Francisco for several months and then moved to Portland where their friends, John and Ramona, lived. John was a student at Reed College and Ramona attended college at Multnomah Community College.
Leo’s father, Jose, was born in the village of Hågat and lived there until he was 11 years old when his mother got sick with a rare neurological disease called Lytico-Bodig. The family moved to Piti and lived with Lucia’s brother and his family of 11. Lucia Tajalle Babauta was 36 when she died, a mother of 9 children. Jose was also the third oldest in his family. The siblings were split up, moving to various relative’s homes in a practice known by CHamorus at poksai (informal adoption). Lucia didn’t reveal who their fathers were which is a mystery to this day. His oldest sister, Maria, was the daughter of Lucia’s husband, Manuel Babauta, who died while fishing.
Return to Oregon
After several months of visiting Guam, the family moved back to Portland as Jose wanted to finish school. While he had planned to become an architect or engineer and had some drafting job experience, he became increasing interested in becoming an artist. Encouraged by his professors, he soon changed his major and began painting and drawing with gusto.
Shannon stayed home with Leo and before long became pregnant with a second child, Katrina Lucia who was born on March 12, 1975. By then the Babauta family were living in South West Portland making it easier for Jose to attend Portland State. They joined the community of students in the area, becoming part of a child care Co-Op and buying groceries from an organic food Co-Op in the neighborhood.
Back to Guam
In 1976 the Murphy’s came to visit the young family and convinced Shannon to bring the children back to Guam so that she could attend the University of Guam. Jose, still in college, soon followed but after a year or so decided to relocate to Seattle and finish his BFA in Art. The couple divorced at that time. Shannon and the children lived in Ipan, along Guam’s East Coast in Southern Guam, the beach was their backyard.
Leo went to Head Start, a pre-school for low income children, in Talofofo until another new federally funded program opened - GATE (Gifted And Talented Education). Leo was accepted as a member of the first class of gifted students. He started kindergarten the following year with his grandmother, Marion, as his teacher at M.U. Lujan in Yona.
In 1980 Shannon earned her college degree in Communications at the University of Guam and immediately started working as a reporter at the Pacific Daily News. Two years later, however, she and Jose decided to try their marriage again, figuring they were older now and still loved each other. Shannon, Leo and Kat went to Seattle to be with Jose while he finished school. They moved back to Guam in January 1983 and Ana Lucia was born a few months later.
Jose won various commissions painting murals and Shannon went back to work at the Daily News. The three children went to public schools.
In 1986 Jose decided he wanted to get his Masters in Fine Arts which would enable him to get a job as a professor of Art at the University of Guam. The family choose to move to San Francisco where, by now, several other members of Shannon’s family had settled. Her sister Megan was a student at the San Francisco Ballet for a time. Sisters Kerry and Erin had started families there and her cousin, Pat too. Even her brothers, Tim and Joey, had lived in The City for a few years.
Leo and Kat learned to ride the public transit and the family enjoyed all the wonders of The City by the Bay. Cousins from Guam visited in the summer as well. Shannon started a bi-weekly newspaper for CHamorus in the US as there was no internet at the time and news about Guam was hard to come by. Leo and Kat helped put mailing labels on the newspapers to CHamorus send all over the world, making it a family business.
Once Jose graduated with an MFA the family moved to Vallejo where they purchased their first house. The family decided to stay in the Bay Area as the job at UOG for Jose wasn’t available yet. But just one year later they were invited back to Guam, after they hosted the first ever CHamoru cultural fair, an event that sought to bring CHamorus together and teach the children about their culture and history.
The family found a house in Mangilao, not too far from the University of Guam campus where Jose got a job. Shannon went back to the Daily News, this time as an editor. Leo and Katrina attended George Washington High School and Ana PC Lujan Elementary. Leo got his first real job, being a sports reporter for the Pacific Daily News and was on the track and basketball teams.
After high school he starting attending college at the University of Guam taking Communications classes, while continuing working as a sports reporter. He also wrote some insightful short stories for the college’s annual fiction publication as well. And his writing career was on it’s way!