Donald C. Onasch took a fine operation and put a polish on it, making Liberty House one of the best retail businesses in the country, says the man who hired him.

Henry A. Walker Jr. was chief executive of Amfac Inc., parent company of Liberty House, when he brought Onasch in from Cincinnati in 1970 to be vice president and general merchandise manager of the island-based retailer that was beginning to expand on the mainland.

Onasch, who would have turned 69 on July 5, died Wednesday.

"He was a close personal friend as well as a superb executive," said Walker. "He always had a smile."

During tumultuous years in the 1970s and 1980s, when Amfac diversified and almost went broke in the process, Liberty House prospered under Onasch's guidance and stayed a household name in Hawaii, Walker said yesterday.

Amfac got into mainland retailing in 1969 when it bought the San Francisco-based Joseph Magnin chain of women's stores and the Rhodes Western department stores. It opened Liberty House outlets in California.

Onasch came aboard after top retailing jobs in Cleveland and Rochester, N.Y., and by 1972 had become president of Liberty House's Hawaii division. Amfac as a whole became too spread out, and

in 1977 it sold the Joseph Magnin business and streamlined the retail operations.

Onasch was named chairman of all of Amfac's retail operations that year and became an Amfac corporate executive vice president in 1978. Amfac had moved its corporate headquarters to San Francisco and Onasch was to spend five years there before returning to Honolulu in 1985.

By then, Amfac had disposed of all its mainland retail operations. Liberty House, the starting point of its retail business, remained with Onasch as chairman and chief executive until his retirement in 1993.

During those years the company built up its department stores and developed new and smaller tourist-related outlets.

Walker had given up being chief executive of Amfac at the end of 1982, remaining as chairman. He recalls how the company was run by teamwork with Onasch one of the key members of the team.

"Amfac was operated by a committee of senior people. He was one of the chief contributors to that effort," said Walker, who is retired.

Amfac Inc. was sold in 1988 to Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp., which kept Liberty House as a separate operation and placed Amfac's remaining Hawaii operations -- agriculture and land development -- into a new subsidiary, Amfac/JMB Hawaii Inc.

Onasch was active in the community in addition to his work at Liberty House. He served as a director of the Hawaii Employers Council, president of the Retail Merchants Association of Hawaii and a director of the Aloha United Way.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth; sons Jay, Greg and David; mother Doris Richeal; brother Richard; and two grandchildren.

Services will be private, and the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hawaii Heart Association.

Winford; daughter Adrienne; several sisters; and a granddaughter. Taoist service: 12:30 p.m. tomorrow at Borthwick Mortuary. Call after 9:30 a.m. Burial: Manoa Cemetery. No flowers.

Harry T.K. "Apau" Chong, 79, of Kahului died June 6 in Maui Memorial Hospital. He is survived by brother William; and sister Mary C. Silva. Service over his ashes: 9 a.m. Friday at Borthwick Mortuary-Norman's. Reception to follow.

Robert J.K. Decano, 23, of Mililani died Tuesday in Queen's Hospital. He is survived by parents Robert and Peggy; sister Carol Ann; and grandparents Sadie Decano and Ruth Mantz. Wake: 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bernice Pauahi Bishop Memorial Chapel at Kamehameha Schools. Call after 4 p.m. Graveside service: 10 a.m. Wednesday at Mililani Memorial Park. Casual attire. No flowers.

MonaRose H. DeRego, 45, of Kahului died June 10 in Maui Memorial Hospital. She is survived by husband Eugene; brother Willian N. Kailianu Jr.; and sisters Daviann U. Franklin, Raynette E.L. Shibata, Tania M. and ZeldaWynne P.T. Kailianu, and Marsella K. Ferreira. Service: noon Wednesday at Hale Mahaolu, 200 Hina Ave.

Isikeli Fekemoana, 57, of Honolulu, also known as Vaka Tofua, a tree trimmer, died last Monday in Kaiser Hospital. He is survived by wife Katalina; sons Tevita Fekemoana and Vili Tofua; daughter Malalini Tofua; brother Epoki Afusipa, and sisters Siailia Afu and Paca Pohiva. Services: Visitation 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and 8 to 10:15 a.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church. Burial: 10:45 a.m. Thursday in Diamond Head Memorial Park. Aloha attire.

Baldomero "Baldo" Gabriel, 70, of Lahaina died Tuesday at home. He is survived by sister Catalina; and brother Daniel. Mass: 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Sunset Memorial Park. Casual attire.

William A. "B.J." Johnston Jr., 67, of Hilo, a retired Hawaiian Telephone Co. customer facility manager, died Sunday in Hilo Hospital. He is survived by ex-wife/caregiver Mitzi; son Michael; daughter Pam Kuwaye; stepdaughters Laura Chong and Rosalind Vance-Gerstein; sister Loretta Arnold; brother Donald Coots; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Private services.

Larry S. Kawamura, 83, of Honolulu died June 11 in Straub Hospital. He is survived by

wife Helen; sons Randall and Peter; brothers Wilfred and Ronald; sisters Kiyoko Kojima and Nancy Takahashi; and four grandchildren. Private services.

Carlos C. Languit is also survived by wife Alvita R. "Beth." Incorrect information was provided by the mortuary for yesterday's first edition.

Francis J. "Muggy" Manner, 75, of Nanakuli, a retired Naval Ammunitions Depot-Lualualei truck driver, died June 8 in Nanakuli. He is survived by wife Patricia; sons Allen, Tenny R., Jimmy F. and Eyulen R.; hanai sons Solomon D. Wong, Nathan D. and Danny Kamaka, and George Kealakai; daughters Moana L. Kerlegan, T. Meiling Donner, Eyutana L. Gomez, and Marleina H. and Jaysanette M. Manner; brothers Chris and Wilfred Manner, and Louie Montero; sisters Larisa Young and Mildred Odaka; 30 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and a hanai-grandson. Wake: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mililani Mortuary-Waipio, mauka chapel. Call after 6 p.m. Service: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the mortuary. Call after 8:30 a.m. Burial: Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, Kaneohe. Casual attire.

Eleanor M. Moore-Wolf, 73, of Kailua died June 14 in Kailua. She is survived by son Charles Wolf; and sisters Mignon Boyd, Alexandria "Sandy" Kamaka, Helene Yamashita and Gwendolyn Kamakea. Mass: 11:30 a.m. Friday at St. Anthony's Church. Call after 10 a.m. Private burial.

Mary M. Nagai, 83, of Honolulu, a Dole Cannery retiree, died Wednesday in Leahi Hospital. She is survived by son Charles M.; and brother Kazuo Sunada. Memorial service: 3 p.m. Monday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Casual attire. No flowers.

Kathryn M. Ng will be remembered in a 12:45 p.m. graveside service Monday at Diamond Head Memorial Park. Call from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday at Borthwick Mortuary. Incorrect information for an obituary published yesterday was provided by the mortuary.

Kimi Nishijo, 90, of Pearl City died June 13 at home. She is survived by daughter Teruko Fukuda; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Private services.

Abner H. Nunes, 76, of Honolulu, a retired Pearl Harbor Shipyard mechanic, died Wednesday in Honolulu. He is survived by wife Gladys M. Gomes; son Abner H. Jr.; daughter Janette G. McIntosh; brothers Harry C.; and three grandchildren. Mass: 10:45 a.m. Tuesday at St. Patrick Catholic Church. Call after 9:30 a.m. Burial: Hawaiian Memorial Park. Aloha attire.

Haruo Oka, 63, of Holualoa, Hawaii, a Take's Transportation Inc. truck driver, died Thursday at home. Oka, a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean War, is survived by wife Sachiko; sons Eugene, Alvin and Albert; and sisters Clara H. Miyagi, Elsie F. Sakata, Betsy S. Lam and Harumi Nishibun. Service: 10 a.m. Wednesday at Kona Hongwanji Mission. Call after 9 a.m. Casual attire. No flowers.

Benjamin K. Pedro, 74, of Honolulu, died June 14 in Kaiser Hospital. He is survived by sons Buster, J. Averell and Jeffrey M.; daughters Bernadette C. Pedro and Millicent H. Pe'a; brother Lawrence K.; sister Catherine C. Silva; 10 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren. Services: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Borthwick Mortuary and 10 a.m. Mass Thursday at Our Lady of the Mount Church. Call after 6 p.m. Wednesday at the mortuary and after 8 a.m. Thursday at the church. Burial: 11:30 a.m. in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl. Aloha attire.

Martha "Gracie" Severn, 80, of Hilo, a retired food service worker and former owner of Gracie's Bar in Waimea, Kauai, died yesterday in the Life Care Center of Hilo. She is survived by daughters Donna Smith, Dianne Keale, Darlene Iokepa and Dollie J. Cole; sisters Goldie Aakhus and Elsie Waner; 17 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren. Inurnment: 2 p.m. Tuesday at Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. 1. Casual attire. No flowers.

Amelia T. Souza, 86, of Kaneohe, a retired registered nurse, died Thursday at home. She is survived by husband Manuel and sister Lydia T. Rodrigues. Service: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. Call after 10 a.m. Burial: Nuuanu Memorial Park.

Mariano Tabisula, 74, of Kahului died Tuesday at home. He is survived by wife Terhericia; sons Joseph, Daniel and Durwin; daughters Virginia Hema, Diane Randolph and Evelina; brothers

Justino and Desiderio Tabisula, and Angel and Damaso; sister Leonor Pais; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mass: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Christ the King Church. Call after 6 p.m. Service: 10 a.m. Friday at the church. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Maui Memorial Park. Casual attire.

Iwaki Tagami, 79, of Honolulu died June 9 in St. Francis Hospital. He is survived by wife Mililani E.; and sisters Shizuyo Maeda and Kay Wong. Private services.

Gary G. Vietsch, 48, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., formerly of Honolulu, died June 6. He is survived by wife Lynn Ann; mother Doris J.V. Smith; and stepbrothers Robert M. and James E. Smith. Memorial service: 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Outrigger Canoe Club, 2909 Kalakaua Ave. No flowers. Donations suggested to the Tom "Daddy" Haine Endowment Fund of the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation.

Dr. John L.T. Waugh, 73, of Honolulu, a retired University of Hawaii chemistry professor, died last Saturday at home. He is survived by wife June; sons Lain, Finlay and Malcolm; daughter Shena Sandler; and three grandchildren. Memorial service: 5 p.m. Wednesday at Punahou Chapel on the Punahou School grounds. No flowers. Donations suggested to the Punahou Scholarship Fund.

George K. Wright, 67, of Honolulu, a retired City and County violation clerk II supervisor, died Thursday at home. He is survived by wife Mary "Marge"; sons George III, Charman, Sheldon, Louie, Allen and Earle; daughters Alice, Mapu and Malia Wright; brother Sinclair; sisters Elizabeth Nakahira and Alice McCallum; 15 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Service: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Borthwick Mortuary. Call after 6 p.m. Graveside service: 2 p.m. Wednesday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl. Casual attire.

George B. Wynn, 72, of Ewa Beach, a U.S. Air Force retiree, died Wednesday. He is survived by wife Elsie; mother Theodosia L.; sons Dirck B. and Eric V.; daughters Elise A. Cameron and Adrienne P. Wynn; and five grandchildren. Service: 5 p.m. Monday at Timothy's Episcopal Church. Burial: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl.