Category Archives: Obituaries

Many families find themselves unable or unwilling to pay the very high fees to publish obituaries of loved ones in Honolulu’s daily newspaper. They can be published here for free. Just email your text, along with any photos you would like to include to ian(at)iLind.net.

Helen Yonge Lind 1914-2013

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My mother died this morning at about 7 a.m. in a hospice house in the back of Palolo Valley.

The first photo was taken on Kahala Beach in late 1941. The second taken on Easter Sunday, 2012, during a visit to our home in Kaaawa.

1941 photo

2012 photo

Before her recent decline, she wrote her own obituary.

Here’s what she wrote, more or less. The original was written in her own hand.

Born Honolulu. Graduate Kamehameha School for Girls (before coed), and UH Manoa. Former instructor in Food Science, UH-Manoa. Also former secretary, Hawaiian Historical Society.

Survived by son, Ian Yonge Lind and wife, Meda, of Kaaawa; daughter, Bonnie (Lind) Stevens of California and Honolulu; granddaughter Christine (Lamont) Kemp and son, Kimo Lamont of Manteca, CA, and several great granddaughters.

Memorials to the Helen Yonge Lind Scholarship Fund
University of Hawaii Foundation
2444 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822

Aloha to Darrow Aiona (photographs) and an era of modern Hawaiian community activism

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About 1980I was very sorry to hear Darrow Aiona died suddenly just a few days before Christmas. Darrow was a very familiar figure in our lives, and his passing sent me digging for old photos. I came up with this batch of pictures which include a couple of Darrow.

That’s Darrow, with his pipe, talking with the late Judy Napoleon of Molokai. The occasion was a party for attorney Robert “Gil” Johnston at the home of the Rev. Charles Hopkins in Kaaawa.

I’m guessing this was around 1980. I know it was well before we moved to Kaaawa, which was in 1988, because I recall thinking that it seemed like a very long way to drive for a party. And it was after Gil left Hawaii in 1975 to teach at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, where he later served as dean. Gil had previously served as head of the Legal Aid Society in Hawaii for a couple of years around 1970, then went into private practice, where he represented Native Hawaiian community groups and activists. Hence the attendees at this small event.

In addition to Darrow, there are a lot of important people from that early period of modern Hawaiian activism who are no longer with us, including Judy Napoleon, Randy Kalahiki, Georgina Padeken, and Alvina Park, plus others I don’t recall or didn’t know.

I wish the scans were better, but I was working from old snapshots.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy the look back.

Aloha, Darrow.

A sad loss of newspaper history

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I spotted a vaguely familiar name in the Star-Advertiser “death notices” on Sunday, Rodney Burl Yarberry.

It was short and to the point, and explained why the name was familiar. Yarberry, who died in Hilo at age 92, once served as superintendent of education.

This is one of those moments that I mourn the loss of the old newspaper archives. When David Black bought the Star-Bulletin in 2001, he had an option to copy the archives, controlled by Gannett’s Honolulu Advertiser. The option was never exercised. Then, when Black later bought the Advertiser from Gannett in 2010, the archive was not included in the deal.

I don’t know what ever happened to that century worth of clipping files carefully indexed by name, but at times like this they are sorely missed.

Back when the archives were accessible, you might have expected an editor to flag Yarberry’s death and assign someone to pull the clips on him for an obituary.

Now, if you’re lucky, Google will turn up something interesting. In this case, we’re lucky.

Yarberry served as superintendent of education for 4 years beginning in 1962, later moving to Kamehameha and then serving as commission of education for the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands.

This is from an abstract of a 1991 interview with Yarberry by Warren Nishimoto, now director of the University of Hawaii’s Center for Oral History.

R. Burl Yarberry was born in 1920 in Pueblo, Colorado. He attended public schools in Pueblo and graduated from high school in 1938. After a year attending the Colorado School of Mines, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Pacific during World War II. Following his discharge, he earned a BA in English from Western State College of Colorado and an MA in American and English literature from the University of Arizona. Between 1950 and 1954, Yarberry was teacher and principal at Ouray High School in Colorado. In 1956, Yarberry received a PhD in English from the University of New Mexico. Shortly thereafter, he arrived in Hawai’i as an English instructor at Hawai’i Vocational School, today known as University of Hawai’i at Hilo. He soon became the college’s director, a position equivalent to chancellor today. In 1962, at the age of forty-one, Yarberry was selected by the state Board of Education to be superintendent of schools. After a four-year tenure as state superintendent, he became coordinator of secondary education and boys’ school principal at the Kamehameha Schools. Two years later, he was named commissioner of education for the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands [TTPI]. Beginning in 1972, Yarberry was involved in various federal and private projects focusing on educational reform. This article presents a narrative on Yarberry’s early life in Colorado, education, years as head of UH-Hilo, and tenure as state superintendent of schools.

Fascinating career for sure, and an opportunity for a fascinating obit. But the lack of those clipping files makes opportunities like this much harder to take advantage of.

Chuck Frankel – 30 –

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I was sorry to get the news yesterday of Chuck Frankel’s death.

He was a class act.

His son, David “Kimo” Frankel, sent out an email to those on Chuck’s correspondence lists. It says a lot about the man.

On Saturday evening, my father experienced intense pain and called an ambulance. After some testing, the doctors determined that his aneurysm had ruptured and recommended surgery. My father refused. The doctors called me at 3 a.m. to let me know what was up and I raced to the hospital, running two red lights. When I got to the hospital, my dad was very alert and lucid. He said that he had lived a good life; that he was ready to die; that I should cancel the subscription to the newspaper; that he did not want any services; that he didn’t think that he would live to see the rail system built. Although the doctors expected him to die right away, he did not. On Sunday, we read the newspaper, watched CNN, and discussed the issues of the day. My father was, of course, quite pleased with the election (except for the mayor’s race). He started feeling worse Monday afternoon and he received more pain medicine. He died this morning without complaint.

I remember Chuck very clearly at the side door of the old newspaper building as I left the Star-Bulletin for the last time after the papers last edition was finished on March 14, 2001. Here’s the photo I managed to get as he greeted me.

Chuck Frankel

Chuck was always generous in sharing his thoughts via email. I think my last missive from him was early last month. Here are just a few examples.

October 9, 2012 – biased headline

As an old headline writer (and supporter of Hanabasa}. I too felt Monday’s headline was unfair to Djou. I thought the story dealt with their outlook on the election and I was surprised that it dealt with the economy. That being said, I doubt that bias was involved — sloppiness was.

August 25, 2012 – the joys of your website

Ian,

Of couse, I enjoy your current political reporting, but it is a real pleasure to encounter treasure of the past, as in your memories of the wonderful Woody Schwartz.

–Aloha, Chuck

August 14, 2012 – how about this

The perfect solution: Make Mufi Hannemann the UH athletic director.

December 29, 2011 – obits

I liked and admired John Heckathorn, but as too often the case with journalists the Star-Advertiser went overboard on its Heckathorn obit but really kissed off with a few words the obit on Marion Kelly. She was an outstanding Hawaiian activist, very learned on Hawaiian land issues, a teacher at UH Manoa, the widow of Save Our Surf co-founder of John Kelly and onetime model for her father-in-law artist John Kelly Sr. She really made a difference in Hawaii.

November 4, 2011 – mcateer

Your item today on McAteer reminds me that Pasty Mink became extremely hostile to him when he questioned the quality of Hawaii’s drinking water, a subject close to the heart and mind of her husband, John. McAteer was correct in his diagnosis, I recall

September 11, 2011 – Print or digital

Ian,

As an important and intelligent critic of the press, you should subscribe to the print edition of the Star-hyphen.

–Aloha, Chuck

March 20, 2011 – Libya

I am puzzled why the U.S. is going to war in Libya in order to save civillian lives while it persists
in using drones that take the lives of Afghans and Pakistanis.

==Aloha, Chuck

October 27, 2010 – dancing with the politicians

KITV is so devoted to bringing election news to its reviewers that it says it will interept the political coverage on Nov. 2 to bring us “Dancing With the Stars” (I forget whether it is for 30 or 60 minutes).

October 14, 2010 – right to die

Ian,

Thank you for sharing your sober thoughts on the right to die.

–Aloha, Chuck

April 24, 2010 – kitv “news”

Shame on KiTV news for airing segments posing as news but in reality are commercials promoting “Lost” and “Dancing with the Stars” on its station.

There are a lot more in my email archive, but perhaps you get the flavor of his advice and counsel.