Remember the three photos of a beachboy funeral posted here back on September 4?

A little research did turn up more information.

I first went to the newspaper indexes, which cover the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin. I checked index listings for Waikiki, funerals, beach boys, etc. Nothing. I browsed obituary listings for the late 1940s and early 1950s, still nothing. Then I turned to Waikiki histories, hoping to find something.

And I did. It turned up in Grady Timmon’s 1989 book, Waikiki Beachboy, a photo from the same funeral, same faces, slightly different scene, and with a further reference to the April 1949 issue of Paradise of the Pacific.

So next stop was the microfilm room downstairs in the Hawaii State Library.

The microfilm copy is not very good and the photos are dark and blurry. But the magazine had more information. The article, Aloha in Waikiki, described the funeral of 54-year old Hiram Anahu, a Waikiki beachboy, in February 1949. Joe Akana is the man carrying the flag-draped urn. Anahu’s daughter, Mrs. Earl Fernandez, and her husband, were there. Members of the Waikiki Surf Club carried the lead canoe into the water. Music was by Splash Lyons’ group.

Then there was the photo of the award dinner held in early 1941, sponsored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to those my dad already recognized, a reader identified Kam Tai Lee, in the dark suit on the far left side, third from the front. Lee was a banker, Territorial Treasurer in the ’50s, and became the first treasurer of the State of Hawaii.

Gary Nakata, who identifies himself as “60th president of the Hawaii Jaycees (Junior Chamber)” added:

Thank you for posting a picture of Alan Watkins, or R. Allen Watkins as all Hawaii Jaycees know him. Mr. Watkins is a legend. The award for most outstanding chapter president is named after him.