By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Janet Mansfield scattered her husband's ashes off
Waikiki while family friend Mark Bellars and son
Paul Mansfield, left to right, threw leis into the ocean.

Isles’ warmth to
pair robbed on visit
brings them back
for final parting

Janet Mansfield puts her
husband to rest on an anniversary
Waikiki cruise

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

HER feelings about the islands might have been sour, but in a touching tribute to aloha spirit, Janet Mansfield chose to return here to scatter her husband's ashes into the sea off Diamond Head.

Brian Mansfield, who died last May, had fond memories of Hawaii and would have approved of the decision, his wife of nearly 25 years said yesterday before leaving the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor aboard the 48-foot tri-hull Free Spirit.

The couple from Bath, England, were embraced by an outpouring of aloha spirit after they were assaulted by two 15-year-old boys during a robbery attempt at a Waimea Bay bus stop in January 1997.

Through its "return victim program," the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii brought the Mansfields back to Hawaii in January 1998 to give them the vacation they had missed the year before.

"It's strange, but because of what happened (at Waimea Bay), we gained a huge network of friends here we would have never had," Mansfield said.

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Son Paul, left, mother Janet and son Luke
Mansfield share a moment afterward.

"So much good has come from it. The aloha spirit of the people makes Hawaii a very special place."

The highlight of Brian Mansfield's trip last year was the sunset cruise aboard the Free Spirit, which belongs to the private Sailing and Ocean Adventure Club.

"He so enjoyed the trip on the boat and felt it was the best thing he'd ever done," Mansfield's wife said. "I think it's so appropriate the boat is named Free Spirit, because that's what he is now."

By putting her husband to rest here, Janet Mansfield is making a statement about how the family feels about Hawaii, says Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii Director Darrell Large.

"It's quite a statement," Large said. "I was really humbled by it. When I asked her why, she told me it was because of the wonderful people they had met here.

"I'm very happy they were truly able to experience the people here and what comes from their hearts. This one's really special."

Yesterday was the anniversary of the couple's sunset cruise on the Free Spirit last year, which is why Mansfield picked the date.

"Our membership is local, so he went out last year with local residents, not other tourists," Free Spirit Captain Gordy Morris said. "That's what made it special for him."