Don't know Jerry Whaley, but if he was Don's cousin, then I'm sure my dad probably did!
Last night was absolutely amazing, and I'm still in shock that we were invited to the service.
I contemplated bringing the camera out to sea (we paddled 1/4 mile out), but I'm glad I didn't now, because the canoe carrying two of his daughters sank as we were coming back!
These pics were taken my the dude I'm currently seeing while we were in the water:
Thousands lined the beach fronting Duke's as the outrigger canoes paddled out to sea. About 30 canoes carried us out, while hundreds more (invited or not) paddled out on their boards.
They danced on the beach while the news stations rolled. The memorial service and celebration of life concert broadcast live throughout the state last night.
Here's the armada of boats and canoes, and the HFD fire boat shooting water before and during the scattering of the ashes.
Just before the scattering of his ashes, the silence was broken by a F-15 ANG fly-by, dipping the wing, then shooting vertical. Not a lot of people knew that Don Ho was in the Air Force, and his memorial service included full military honors.
You can't see it in this picture, but the employees of the Hilton Hawaiian Village created a 76 foot long plumeria lei (one foot for each year of his life) that draped the lead catamaran.
The view from our 16th Floor lanai. About 150-200 of us were invited, and hundreds more tried to listen in on the service.
The following I filched from HS-B:
Don's widow holding some of his ashes. Each child received his/her own as well to scatter. His ashes were wrapped in ti-leaves, ho`okupu style. I thought it was pretty cool how the mothers of his 4 youngest children, Patty and Elizabeth, were also included in the service. A helicopter dropped thousands of petals as his ashes were scattered in the ocean.
Daughter Hoku, best known for her song "Perfect Day" from Legally Blonde.
A better view of the canoes.
Also, here's a
slideshow from last night.
It was quite the sendoff befitting a wonderful man.
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