HILO — The Big Island is mourning the loss of state Sen. Gil Kahele, who died early Tuesday following a series of heart attacks. He was 73.
Kahele, a Democrat who represented Hilo, had been at The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu since early last week after suffering an initial Jan. 18 heart attack while in Hilo. He was was in good spirits and improving, his son, Kai Kahele said, and even hoped to attend the Jan. 20 start of the 2016 legislative session.
But he suffered several subsequent episodes during the week, followed by a final, fatal heart attack Tuesday morning.
“Every time he was just about ready to move onto the next phase, he’d have another heart attack, and that set him back,” Kai Kahele said. “That happened several times, and finally there was no more moving on.”
Gil Kahele was appointed state senator in 2011 and then elected in 2012. He was chair of the Tourism and International Affairs Committee and also founded the Paa Pono Milolii citizens group, which settled a land tenure issue for residents displaced from the 1926 Mauna Loa lava flow.
As senator, he helped preserve 6,000 acres in South Kona through creation of the South Kona Wilderness Area. He also helped see Mauna Kea State Recreation Area transferred to Hawaii County and fought “tooth and nail” to keep the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy in Hilo, Kai Kahele said.
Those who knew him well say he’s best remembered for his gentle demeanor, “old-school Hawaiian style of love” and kindness.
“My dad loved Hawaii,” Kai Kahele said. “He especially loved Hilo and Milolii, where he was born. There are little bits and pieces of my dad everywhere — you may not know it, but if you live on the Big Island, there’s something that has a little bit of Gil Kahele on it.”
“He was a fine example of a Hawaiian,” added Malama Solomon, former state senator who worked with Kahele to resolve the land tenure issue. “He was very oluolu and always had a moment to speak to you. You don’t see that too much in political leadership now, where people are willing to take the time to go one-to-one.”
Kahele was born May 15, 1942, in a seaside grass shack at Kahili, just south of Milolii in South Kona, according to information from his website. His parents, both of Hawaiian descent, moved to Hilo when Kahele was 5. Kahele was a 1960 Hilo High School graduate and served for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He worked for decades at the Pohakuloa Training Area and retired in 2000 as the director of public works.
Kahele also was former chair of the Hawaii County Police Commission and served as East Hawaii Chair of the Hawaii County Democratic Party, according to his website.
Rep. Clift Tsuji, also a Hilo Democrat, said he became friends with the senator in 2004 when first running for office. Kahele volunteered to help go door-to-door to campaign, Tsuji said.
“He was a great friend to the community, a great friend to the district,” Tsuji said, adding he plans to give additional focus to Kahele’s current priorities, such as improving the Banyan Drive area. “ … I know he took a great passion of what’s going to happen to tourism.”
“He’s a very warm guy who likes to laugh,” added state Sen. Russell Ruderman, a Democrat who represents Puna.
University of Hawaii at Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney called Kahele an important proponent for the school whose support and friendship would be sorely missed.
“Over the years, I found it was always worth taking the time to sit down and talk with him. We always had a great exchange, and we could learn so much from each other,” he said.
Several other state lawmakers offered statements of condolences Tuesday. Gov. David Ige also released a statement.
“He was a dedicated public servant who spent the last few years working for the good of his beloved community at the Hawaii State Legislature,” Ige said in the statement. “He was a respected and influential leader both in the Legislature and in his hometown community of Hilo.”
Days before his first heart attack, Kahele attended the Jan. 16 40th anniversary program at the Hawaii Island Adult Care center, where he presented a plaque on behalf of the Senate.
“What a shock,” said the center’s Executive Director Paula Uusitalo after hearing of Kahele’s death. “He was just a very positive man. He was 100 percent supportive of us every year.”
Kai Kahele said Kahele’s body will be sent back to the Big Island. The family is planning an event for the public and will announce details soon.
“He was pretty straight up. He didn’t want anything somber, he wanted a celebration of life,” Kai Kahele said. “He touched so many lives through the course of his life. He was just full of aloha, and that’s how he’s best remembered, as someone who lived aloha.”