The monsignor helped plan
the Maryknoll fund-raiser before
his Jan. 19 death

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

His name, Kekumano, meant "to set a path."

His actions of a lifetime led more than 1,000 people to pay tribute to him in loving, affectionate and humorous memory last night.

Monsignor Charles Kekumano had originally helped plan the dinner at the Sheraton Waikiki to raise scholarship money for needy children to go to the private Catholic Maryknoll School.

But with his death Jan. 19, the evening became a tribute for the monsignor, who insisted on his deathbed that the event should go on without him, saying with tears in his eyes, "Do it for the children."

"This evening is a legacy of his whole personality," said emcee Patrick Downes, editor of the Hawaii Catholic Herald. "Look around. The crowd who turned out is a reflection of who he was: a man of his people."

Catholics, University of Hawaii leaders, Kamehameha School heads, judges, business executives, Bishop Estate officials and children were at the dinner. The evening bloomed into a celebration with easiness, laughter, and Hawaiian singing.

"It's a celebration as he would have wanted. He loved a good party. He was a man of wit and wisdom," said Lori Carlos, director of development at Maryknoll Schools.

Charged with writing a chant for the monsignor, Cynthia Kumau, teacher of Hawaiian studies and hula at Maryknoll, spent two hours at his graveside for inspiration on Saturday. "He told me what to say," she said, smiling.

"His name meant 'to set a path.' He wanted to set a path for the children to be proud of their homeland. He guided a lot of them," Kumau said. "He had a good ear for listening. I remember him as a child. He didn't talk down to me -- he talked to me."

Kumau sees the results in lives of people the monsignor touched, people who had emotional or family problems. "He helped them to stay on the right path and make the right decision."

"He had a marvelous sense of humor," said Michael Baker, president of Maryknoll Schools, who gave the keynote speech last night. "He always kept things in perspective. He centered himself with humor."

Kekumano baptized, counseled, befriended and performed marriages for many in the audience.

Yvonne Morris, public relations coordinator for Maryknoll, recalled when Kekumano conducted her marriage ceremony in 1963.

"My mother wasn't that excited about the marriage. I wasn't finished with college yet -- we were young. He convinced her. He said, 'These young people have waited long enough.' He showed us how precious our gift of love was for one another," Morris said.

Kekumano felt he had a gift to repay to the community because of his upbringing, Downes said. Born in Napoopoo, Kona, he lost his mother at an early age and was raised by his grandparents.

He went to St. Louis School on Oahu, and paid $1 a month because of financial help awarded him. "He felt it was important for people to give back," Morris said.

The night fulfilled the monsignor's mission, Baker said.

Toward the end of the monsignor's battle with cancer, several of his friends and family urged him to stop accepting commitments, like last night's fund-raiser, Baker said.