RIP: Ward Joseph Lemn, Jr., September 22, 1944 – March 23, 2024.

We started walking to the beach nearly every morning to watch the sunrise back in 1995 while living in Kaaawa. One of the first people we met in the mornings was Ward Lemn. He was often out in his garage mending fishing nets, or laying his nets out in the yard before putting them away, and over the years we would often stop and chat. He had a big family with lots of children and grandchildren, and before long great-grandchildren were in the mix.

Sometime along the way, I volunteered to take photos when he would host a big party for family milestones, a wedding, child’s first birthday, high school graduation, Ward’s retirement, and so on. These were always big productions, with a large tent capable of seating well over 100 people, requiring food prep that went on for several days. As photo opportunities, these were priceless to me, offering a look at a slice of Hawaii many people never experience.

Ward died last year 6-months before his 80th birthday.

Saturday we all said a long goodbye, first at Kualoa Regional Park, where his ashes were scatted in the ocean just 100 yards or so offshore, and then in a grand party like so many we had attended in the past. This time without Ward’s presence, except in a large banner and special shirts featuring his pictures. And, once again, my camera and I were glad to be there.

Top: The gathering at Kualoa Regional Park where family and friends watched as his ashes were carried into the ocean, in a spot he was intimately familiar with after a long life in which fishing played such a big part.

Below: The party started in the afternoon, and I’m sure it lasted well into the night, long after my camera and I headed home.

Also see a few earlier posts:

Mending nets in Kaaawa, January 28, 2011

Crime alert: Thieves take a lifetime of nets, November 13, 2012

Graduation party in Kaaawa creates another visual, as well as culinary, feast, July 27 2014

RIP Ward Lemn Jr., April 1, 2024