Beatrice Krauss, ethnobotanist,
By Helen Altonn
author, UH teacher, dies at 94
Star-BulletinBeatrice Krauss, 94, ethnobotanist, author and self-proclaimed Hawaiian who taught thousands of students to respect the aina, died yesterday at her Manoa home. Her interest and achievements in the plant world began early: She used to accompany her father, University of Hawaii agriculture professor Frederick Krauss, to the Manoa campus in 1910. Krauss Hall is named for her father.
She was the first woman to earn a degree in agriculture at UH and worked more than 40 years as a researcher at the Pineapple Research Institute. Paul Weissich, director emeritus of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens who met her at the institute, said she was “a great advocate for Hawaiian culture.”
He said she told celebrants at her 80th birthday party, “I may be haole on the outside, but I’m 100 percent Hawaiian on the inside.”
Weissich said she was interested in Hawaiian native plants and “anything the Hawaiians used and how they used it.”
She was “sort of an anthropologist” as well as a botanist, he said. “Sort of a hybrid mix -- an ethnobotanist. She was ahead of her time. Nowadays it’s very popular to be concerned about things Hawaiian. Thirty-five or 40 years ago, it wasn’t.”
Charles Lamoureux, Lyon Arboretum director, said Krauss had at least three careers. When the pineapple institute closed, she went to UH to teach ethnobotany. It was so popular, he said, that it grew from one to six sections a semester.
And it was all pro bono, he said.
“She was a person of extremely high principles. She wasn’t paid because she didn’t believe in the loyalty oath and refused to sign it,” he said.
Lamoureux said Krauss “knew everybody and worked with anybody, and anybody who came to her with a request she would help.”
She gave of her time, knowledge and even money, he said.
“She was always helping students of the university.”
She wrote many books. Her last was “Plants in Hawaiian Culture,” considered a classic.
She had suffered from osteoporosis and heart problems but remained active to the end.
“Her mind was sharp as ever.”
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. March 15 at Lyon Arboretum.
Judy Weightman, 56, urged
By Mary Adamski
justice and equality for all
Star-BulletinJudy M. Weightman’s passion for justice and equality was not only the theme of her career and life interests, it was her legacy, friends said. Weightman, 56, a professor and director of the pre-admission program for minorities at the William S. Richardson School of Law for the past 10 years, died Wednesday at Queen’s Hospital after a long battle with cancer.
Her work as a founder of the Hawaii Holocaust Project produced the award-winning documentary film “From Hawaii to the Holocaust, a Shared Moment in History,” and television shows featuring the oral histories of Hawaii’s nisei soldiers of World War II who participated in the liberation of the Dachau concentration
camp, and of Jewish survivors of the Nazi genocidal campaign.
The American Bar Association recently recognized her with its Ramsay Award for bringing representation from diverse groups into the legal profession.
Moya Davenport Gray, director of the Office of Information Practices and a law school classmate, said: “Her incredible energy and passion . . . probably instilled that passion for equality with all her students. I think the law school and community will really benefit from her work as they move into their careers. They will have learned from the best.”
Circuit Judge Sandra Simms said: “All of the students who have gone through that program were like her children. She was their mother in addition to being their professor, heard their crises and confidences, cried with them.”
Darren Ching, a former student, said: “Starting with her days as a public defender, she has been involved in helping people who couldn’t help themselves.
“I was lucky enough to be one of the students she gave guidance xxx in law and just in life in general. She was always there offering her support.
The Hawaii Women Lawyers honored her last year with a distinguished service award. The Jewish Federation of Hawaii named her for a lifetime achievement award. She was a charter member of the Afro American Lawyers Association and an officer of the American Civil Liberties Union. She co- chaired Hawaii State Bar Association committees on minority bar passage and increasing participation of under-represented groups in the legal profession.
During her illness, Weightman undertook a project with the goal of helping future breast cancer victims. Her son, Wayne, a professional filmmaker, documented her journey through chemotherapy, doctor visits, bone scans and lab tests, and hospitalization. As she
proceeded through her own experience, Weightman gave advice to future viewers.
“This whole experience was positive, a celebration of life,” said Wayne Weightman. “The essence is that you should continue to live your life.”
Born in Pennsylvania, she was the child of Jewish parents who had fled persecution in Poland and Russia. She received a bachelor’s degree from California University of Pennsylvania, and master and doctor of law degrees from the University of Hawaii.
She is survived by sons Wayne, Randy and Darrell; sister Gloria Kornasevicz; life partner Andy Mirikitani; and two granddaughters.
Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Temple Emanu-El. Friends may call after 9 a.m. Burial will be in Oahu Cemetery.
The family asks that flowers be omitted and aloha attire be worn. Memorial contributions may be made to The Hawaii Holocaust Project, the J.M. Weightman Scholarship at University of Hawaii Foundation, or to Hawaii Community Television earmarked for the “Living With Cancer Film.”
Family and friends will gather at 5 p.m. Monday at Fort DeRussy to cast flowers and leis in the ocean from canoes and surfboards. A memorial service sponsored by the UH law school will be at 5 p.m. March 25 at Orvis Auditorium.
Yosaku Aimoto, 92, of Honolulu, a retired mechanic, died Feb. 10 at home. Born in Japan, he is survived by sons Robert and Danny, daughter Lillian Uyeda, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Private services.
