Kam Tai Lee, first treasurer
By Harold Morse
of the state, dies at 92
Star-BulletinKam Tai Lee, the last treasurer of the Territory of Hawaii and first treasurer of the State of Hawaii, died Oct. 15 in Aiea. He was 92. From 1937 to 1943, he also served five sessions as a member of the territorial House of Representatives. A Republican, he introduced legislation for the first Unemployment Compensation Act and a Territorial Scholarship Act.
“Kam Tai was a very genial person,” recalled Edward Greaney, former Honolulu newspaper columnist and retired state official.
Lee managed the territorial treasurer’s office just before statehood, at a time when new capital was coming into Hawaii, Greaney said. For example, the tycoon Henry J. Kaiser was here, he said.
“New investment was coming in, in anticipation, I believe, of statehood triggering better economic times,” Greaney said.
Lee resigned as treasurer shortly after Hawaii became a state. Friends said he wanted to stay on, but resigned when he learned Gov. William Quinn had someone else in mind.
Lee was born in Waikane. He received his early education at Waiahole School and at Mid-Pacif
ic Institute, graduating from the University of Hawaii in 1929.
After graduation, Lee worked briefly as editor of an English section of a Chinese-language newspaper and then took employment with the Service Cold Storage Co. for two years. He was with Liberty Bank of Honolulu from 1934 to 1953.
He also served as trustees for the Blood Bank of Hawaii and the Honolulu Community Chest. Additionally, he belonged to the Honolulu Police Reserve and the Hawaii National Guard in World War II.
Lee is survived by wife Helen; daughters Marcia Lau and Betsy Styskal; and sons Jan and Dane.
A memorial service will take place at Diamond Head Memorial Park Chapel at 11 a.m. Nov. 2. Call after 9:30 a.m. Casual attire. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be made to Palolo Chinese Home.
Hawaii Literacy stayed close
By Harold Morse
to ‘lady’ Evelyn Trapido’s heart
Star-BulletinEvelyn L. Trapido, a dedicated teacher long active in Hawaii Literacy Inc., made Honolulu a better place, says Nancy Ekern. Ekern, a retired program specialist with Hawaii Literacy, said: “Evelyn was a lady in the best sense of the word. She was gentle. I worked with her for a number of years and I never heard her raise her voice. She was a gentle woman. She was a joy to work with.”
Trapido, 77, died Monday in Honolulu.
She was the wife of Joel Trapido, who was a founder of the University of Hawaii drama department and retired director emeritus of Manoa Valley Theatre.
She was a contributing author to the book “Manoa: The Story of a Valley,” with other Manoa residents Charles Bouslog, Klara
Chun, Janet Gordon-Roach, Charlotta Hoskins, Beatrice Krauss, Norma Au Lum, Fay Wren Midkiff, Miriam Woolsey Reed, Peggy Poole Robb, Louise Vicars, Christie Wong and Margaret S. Young. The book was a best seller in Hawaii in 1995.
She published a letter to the editor of the Star-Bulletin when she was Hawaii Literacy president in 1989.
“Though the majority of illiterates are good citizens, the inability to read makes people turn to drugs or crime as a way out of problems,” she wrote. “You can read this. Help someone who cannot xxx ”
Born in New Jersey, Trapido graduated in home economics from Douglass College in New Brunswick in 1941 and taught home economics in Newark from 1942 to 1949. She was a home economist for Von Hamm Young Co. in Honolulu from 1949 to 1952.
Trapido was an adult-education teacher here from 1971 to 1977 and became a volunteer with Hawaii Literacy in 1977, serving as its executive director from 1979 to 1983.
She is survived by her husband; daughters Jean Trapido-Rosenthal and Barbara Trapido-Lurie; and brother Jerry Lachman; also sons-in-law Dr. Henry Trapido-Rosenthal and Roger Lurie.
Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Temple Emanu-El, followed by a private inurnment in Hawaiian Memorial Park.
Barnett, co-founder
By Harold Morse
of Aloha Week
Star-Bulletin
Frederick Barnett was partying aboard a British navy ship tied up in San Francisco in the early 1930s and it sailed to Honolulu before he could get off. Upon arrival in Honolulu, the stowaway spent the first night in jail.
Barnett, 90, a co-founder of Aloha Week, died Sunday in Honolulu. He was born at Woolwich, England, south of London.
In spite of his inauspicious beginning in Hawaii, he stayed and went on to manage the appliance division of the Von Hamm-Young Co. retail outlet on Kauai, then became a Honolulu resident and was in sales for Hawaiian Electric Co. In the early days of World War II, he worked as procurement officer for the British Ministry of Supply in Washington, D.C.
He later returned to Hawaii, where he co-founded the Aloha Week festival with Harry Nordmark in 1946.
Daughter Betty Ann Sallee has fond memories of those early years.
“I remember when I was young, I was like 3 and 4 years old, and we were dressed up in grass skirts, coconut hats and a lei,” she said. “He would try to teach us how to do the hula. He loved to do the hula. He was famous for his rendition of ‘The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai.’ ”
He once went to England with the Rev. Abraham Akaka and the Aloha Week Court to promote Aloha Week, she added.
The resourceful Barnett also founded and was president of Market Equipment Ltd., supplying refrigeration and shelving to Hawaii markets and stores. While operating Market Equipment, he actually designed entire supermarkets and smaller grocery outlets in the 1950s and ’60s. Also, he branched out to become vice president and director for Pago Pago Finance in American Samoa.
His community service included support of Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children. He helped bring children here from the South Pacific for treatment.
“His Shrine activities were very, very much a part of his life, and he became the potentate and also a jester,” his daughter said.
He was the first president of the Portlock Road Association, was an avid gardener and belonged to the Optimist Club.
Barnett also is survived by daughter Lani Berrington; son Mike Sorter; sisters Winnie McEwen, Alma Sturrock and Shirley Laurie; and one grandchild.
Masonic services will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Shriners Waimanalo Beach Club. The ashes will be scattered at 5 p.m. Monday at Tropic Seas Inc., 2943 Kalakaua Ave. The family requests aloha attire. Donations may be made to Aloha Week Festival or Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children.
Mercedes F. Collado, 61, of Kapolei died Monday in Kaiser Hospital. Born in Umingan, Pangasinan, the Philippines, she is survived by sons Marlon, Meliton, Andrew and Michael; daughters Eleanor Arellano, Evangeline Tolete and Estrella Collado; seven grandchildren; and two brothers. Mass: 7 p.m. Monday at Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, 712 N. School St. Call from 6 to 9 p.m. Rosary: 10 a.m. Tuesday at Mililani Mortuary-Waipio, makai chapel. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Mililani Memorial Park.
