Aloha Donny

On my first visit back to Hawaii back on '04 we stayed in a beautiful house across the street from my folks', a place called Mahinani. The Mahis are friends of my parents, members of their congregation and they had vacation homes and a tree farm. It was a beautiful visit, a beautiful house. One night Joanna (my friend who came along) made a fantastic chicken curry dinner and we had Don join us, since his wife was working on Oahu. He was a very nice guy, we enjoyed visiting with him.  At one point I remember he was riding his big mower around and I discovered the cattle egret following in the freshly mowed grass, cleaning up the bugs.

About 2 1/2 years ago Don was diagnosed with cancer and began a long battle, which he recently lost. He was loved by very many people here in the islands and on the mainland. He was 64 years old, the youngest of 4 siblings, all of them having survived him. He has 2 daughters, a son and a loving wife. 

Knowing that his memorial would draw a massive crowd the family opted to have a "private" event on Saturday 8/23. They rented a big white tent (same style as the wedding 2 blogs back), invited our whole congregation as well as probably 100 other special, close friends and family. So even though this was meant to be a small memorial it was still rather large. 

One of his closest friends locally gave his memorial talk. A soft-spoken man who seems to have a shortage of self-confidence and was probably fighting back the tears through much of the talk. But he did a fantastic job, his talk was very clear and touching. The family members then took turns telling stories of Don as a child and young adult. 

Per normal Hawaiian tradition there was once again live Hawaiian music, a Hawaiian feast of finger foods (pupus) and late in the evening the hulas began. Unfortunately I didn't stay long enough to see the hulas. Next time I'm sticking around!

Something that was different from the way it's done back home on the mainland - they had his ashes there. They were in a beautiful hand made wooden box draped with leis. Very classy.

Don was quite the fellow and is missed by throngs. We're all looking forward to reuniting with him in the future paradise and he'll be more like the vibrant man I met back in '04.

1 cats hacked up hairballs:

Diana September 1, 2014 at 12:23 AM  

You did an excellent job in your wording and inserted pictures.

It was all such a blur to me that day, so seeing the photos means a lot. If you have any other pictures I'd love to see them.

I'm going to forward your blog to all my kids now. I know they will love it too!

Thanks a million!

About Me

My photo
After 2 unsuccessful marriages I spent 12 years as a divorcee, only to fall prey to another man's wiles. We had a fun 5 years together and then he decided he wanted more freedom so once again I'm single.

So I'm freshly divorced at 57 and have 5 great kids and now 7 grandkids. My kids are still a major part of my life but I'm busy helping my aging parents on Kauai.

I've lived in California, Hawaii and Oklahoma before finally settling here in Washington. I love Washington and come back to visit family, friends and take care of my garden often but will be temporarily a resident of Kauai.

I've moved 30 times in my life (no, my parents weren't in the service, at least not since I was about 2) and finally planted roots when I got my little house that I've owned since '91.

My family are Jehovah's Witnesses, I've been one since '72.