Famed falsetto singer became leader of native Hawaiians

Linda Dela Cruz / 1929-2007

Linda Dela Cruz will always be remembered for her two voices. There is Linda, "Hawaii's Canary," and then there's Linda, a voice of the people.

Known mostly for her unforgettable style of falsetto singing, Dela Cruz was only beginning to become a solid voice for native Hawaiians. She died Thursday morning at the age of 77 in her Panaewa home in Hilo.

Lillian Leialoha "Linda" Keawe'ehu Dela Cruz began her singing career in the 1940s, when she performed with friends as the Halekulani Girls. She retired about 30 years later, but not before becoming known as "Hawaii's Canary," due to her unique vocal stylings.

She was honored by the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts with a Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award.

She became a homesteader, but she aimed to do more for the community. She first ran for public office in the 1980s. She once said she had run so many times for the state House of Representatives, Senate and Office of Hawaiian Affairs that she lost count.

She headed several community organizations, including the Panaewa Farmers Association, Panaewa Hawaiian Homes Community Association and Keaukaha-Panaewa Community Association.

She won a seat on the OHA Board of Trustees in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004. Her term was to end in 2008.

Trustees have 60 days to select a replacement. If one is not chosen by then, Gov. Linda Lingle will have 30 days to name a replacement.

But finding a replacement with as much heart and soul would be difficult, said OHA Board of Trustees Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona.

Dela Cruz was a strong advocate of many OHA initiatives, including the native Hawaiian registry and a microloan program for native Hawaiians in emergency situations.

"In the six years she was a trustee, she began to evolve into a role as a policymaker," Apoliona said. "It was important that she still had her connections to the community, but she used that understanding to make strong policy decisions."

Apoliona said the Hawaiian community has suffered a tremendous loss and that OHA sends its sincerest aloha to her family.

"She was very proud of OHA, and she was very proud to be Hawaiian," she said. "We'll miss her. I miss her."