Island neurosurgeon
remembered as caringStanley Batkin, 82
By Mary Adamski
Star-BulletinNeurosurgeon Stanley Batkin brought patients to his medical school class for what a colleague remembers as a memorable learning experience for the fledgling doctors.
"He was just wonderful in portraying to students what a caring physician should do and how a caring physician should act," said Martin Rayner, who shared a neurosciences class with Batkin for years at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.
"It was a joy to watch him speak to patients. He would talk to the patient in front of the whole class and you would feel he was unconscious of the students, but of course it was to them that he was speaking. Ignoring neither side, not talking down to either side ... it was wonderful to watch. I respected his knowledge as well as his people skills and his wisdom," Rayner said.
Batkin was a surgeon at Kaiser Medical Center for 17 years until his retirement in 1979. He continued as a professor and researcher at the university until he was 82.
He died Tuesday in Honolulu at the age of 86.
Former UH medical school dean Terence Rogers said Batkin "was greatly admired by his colleagues and friends, highly skilled as a surgeon and neurologist. An older generation of police officers knew him, he dug a lot of bullets out of heads."
Part of his personal history that wasn't well known was that, although American, Batkin served during World War II in the British army. "He trained as a doctor in Edinburgh and there he was attached to the Black Watch, a Highland regiment," said Rogers. "He was built like a bear and had been a Golden Gloves titlist as a young man. He was a very gentle person, a kindly man."
Dr. Frank Tabrah, who did research with Batkin on spinal cord injuries, and on the causes and controls for cancer, said, "He was truly an intellectually curious person. You don't see many like this anymore. He was always asking why something works or doesn't work. He was quite instrumental in getting significant grants for the medical school.
"He befriended medical students and residents. He was available any time to sit down with them and work with them about problems," Tabrah said.
Batkin also pursued his research on neurophysiology in Israel. He did research on cancer and on cell regeneration at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem for five years, said his daughter, Maya Finer of Israel. He also did work at a Haifa University.
He was born in New York. He earned a bachelor's degree from New York University and received his medical degree from the Royal College of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was a surgeon in Syracuse, N.Y., before moving to Hawaii in 1962.
He is survived by his wife Helen; sons Bill and Fred; daughter Maya Finer; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Temple Emanu-El. Burial will be in Israel.
Small Business Hawaii
spokeswoman diesJean Fukuda, 58
By Treena Shapiro
Star-BulletinHonesty and a positive attitude made Jean Fukuda a person businesspeople wanted to deal with, and as an active member of Small Business Hawaii and co-owner of Something Special! and Wheatgrass Pacifica, she gave them ample opportunity.
State Sen. Sam Slom, president and executive director of Small Business Hawaii, met Fukuda in 1983, when she became involved in his organization. "She had never been a spokesperson for anything, and was very shy," he said.
However, during her years as a director and executive secretary, Slom said she became an outstanding spokeswoman and involved herself in many issues surrounding small business, mentoring women and young people and heading Small Business Hawaii's educational effort.
The Honolulu-born Fukuda, 58, died July 8 after battling cancer and spinal arthritis.
Fukuda's contributions to the organization will not be forgotten. Slom said directors will discuss an educational living memorial in Fukuda's name at their next executive committee meeting.
"Jean had great wisdom and was on a spiritual path that we all could learn from," said Read Aloud America President Jed Gaines, who brought her on as director for Small Business Hawaii.
Slom said Fukuda and her husband, Wayne, were pioneers in business, among the first in the United States to import materials from mainland China. Together they won the first Small Business Success Story award in 1984
She is survived by her husband, daughter Jeanine and brother Herbert Ohta. Services will be 10 a.m. Sunday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary.
Ursula Acosta, 62, of Waipahu, died July 1. Born in Hanau, Germany, she is survived by sons Marco, Karl, Hans and Andrew "Bobo;" daughter "Honey Girl;" brothers Bubu, Karlman, Peter and Detlef Grieshiemer; sisters Marika, Frieta, Hilda, Ute and Edith Grieshiemer; 12 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Services: 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Waipahu Church of Christ. Call after 10:30 a.m. Inurnment: Mililani Memorial Park. Casual attire.
Silvestre U. Campos, 87, of Guam, formerly of Waipahu, a retired federal welder, died July 7 in St. Francis-West Hospital. Born in Ilocos Norte, the Philippines, he is survived by wife Petrona "Itron"; sons Silvestre B. Jr., Paustino, John and David; daughters Eleanor C. LeBrun and Shirley Cruz; sisters Felomina Valdez and Julia Delos Santos; and eight grandchildren. Services: 1 p.m. Saturday at Mililani Mortuary-Waipio, makai chapel. Call after 9:30 a.m. Burial: Mililani Memorial Park. Casual attire.
Sue J.M.K. Dela Cruz, 61, of Aiea died July 7 in Aiea. Born in Honolulu, she is survived by husband Antonio C.; daughters Antonette S. and Adriane L. Dela Cruz, Anna Marie Jones and Ashlyn Kaleiwohi; sons John, Antonio C., Pomaikai and Joshua K.; brother Henry Kaawa; and nine grandchildren. Call from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. Services: 9 a.m. Monday at the mortuary. Call after 8 a.m. Burial: Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery. Aloha attire.
Vivian Fitzsimmons, 69, of Kaneohe and Nanawale Estates, Hawaii died July 2 in Hilo Hospital. Born on Oahu, she is survived by son George Kong Jr., stepdaughters Minoaka Fitzsimmons and Terry Toba, companion Joe Purdy, care giver Anna Kaui, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services: 11:30 a.m. Monday at Borthwick Mortuary. Call after 8 a.m. Burial: Diamond Head Cemetery.
Minoru Furuya, 85, of Honolulu, a retired maintenance man, died last Thursday in Wahiawa General Hospital. Born in Hoea, Hawaii, he is survived by daughter Glenice Y.; brothers Richard T., Satoshi and Raymond K.; and sisters Doris Y. Furuya and Mildred S. Higuchi. Private services.
Susan J.S. Herrera, 50, of Kailua-Kona, a hostess at the Denny's Restaurant, died July 1 in Kona Community Hospital. Born in Hilo, she is survived by husband Sione Makaafi; daughters Beth Manriquez, Celeste Feki, Alvina Nau and Alvalene "Tida" Anderson; sons Alva III, Halii and Kawika Anderson; mother Feoctavia "Vicky" Santiago; sisters Judy Riviera, Maryann Santiago, Patricia Gamble, Lori Fiesta and Margaret Rodrigues; brothers Robert W. Santiago and Leo Rosa; and 27 grandchildren. Services: 11 a.m. Monday at Glad Tidings Church, 116 Kapiolani St. in Hilo. Call after 9 a.m. Inurnment: Alae Cemetery. Casual attire. No flowers.
Samuel N. Holt, 72, of Honolulu died Tuesday in Ewa Beach. Born in Honolulu, he is survived by wife Robin, daughters Liko Holt and Arma-Lee Kaniho, sons Samuel D.H. and Richard, sister Eleanor, brother James, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Services: 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Oahu Cemetery. Inurnment to follow. Aloha attire.
Floyd F. "Duboy" Hustace, 77, of Kaneohe, a retired Hawaiian Telephone employee, died Sunday in Kaneohe. Born in Honolulu, he is survived by wife Blanche M., sons Floyd P. and Bruce M., five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Services: 9 a.m. Tuesday at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery. Casual attire. No flowers.
Minoru Iwamoto, also known as "Jack" or "Granpa," 91, of Honolulu, formerly of Palolo, a retired carpenter, died June 20 in St. Francis Hospice. Born in Hanamaulu, Kauai, he is survived by daughter Joan I. Nakamatsu, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Private services.
Hershall A. Jenkins, 73, of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Hawaii, a retired steel worker with the U.S. Steel Manufacturing Co., died July 7 in Kona Community Hospital. Born in Gresham, Ore., he is survived by wife Profitiza C.; sons Hershall H., Frank V., James T. and Robert D.; daughters Gladios C. Hoagland, Josephine Jenkins and Maria C. Cardoza; brother Kenneth D.; sisters Ruth Britton and Ruby Nazzarese; 11 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Mass: 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Michael's Catholic Church. Call from 8 to 11 a.m. Burial: church cemetery. Casual attire. No flowers.
Benny P. Kai, 60, of Hauula, a retired paramedical assistant, died Saturday in Honolulu. Born in Honolulu, he is survived by wife Angie; sons Di Jay, Benny Jr., Danner and Tony; daughters Chrystallyn Kai, Renee Galbraith and Donna and Kimberly Kai; brothers Leroy Kai and Leonard, John and Joseph Dequilmo, Clyde Bumanlag and Allen, Meladio and Harold Esteron; sisters Lynda Dequilmo, Chubby Underwood, Marilyn Meyers, Danielle Dela Cruz and Melody Aki; mother Ruth Esteron; and 15 grandchildren. Services: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. Call from 6 to 9 p.m. Services: noon Wednesday at the mortuary. Call from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Aloha attire. No flowers.
Charles Kealoha, 73, of Honolulu, a retired waste-water mechanic, died June 29 in Honolulu. Born in Waihee, Maui, he is survived by son Charles Jr., daughters Pearl Kealohanui and Elsie Kealoha, sister Mildred Kiha'mahana, brothers Macmillen and Willard Kiha'mahana, 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Services: 7:30 p.m. Monday at Kaumakapili Church. Call from 5 to 9 p.m. Services: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. Call after 8 a.m. Burial: Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery.
Kitiona M. Lauofo, 96, of Honolulu, an assistant minister for the Moanalua Samoan Christian Church, United Church of Christ, died July 4 at home. He was also a retired village mayor for Malaeloa, American Samoa and navigator for Staffany Co. from Western Samoa to Pago Pago, American Samoa. Born in Tokelau, Samoa, he is survived by sons Tatasi, Tatasi and Taaloga; daughters Maimau Etuale and Anna Faamau-Bower; brothers Vili and Erika Matatia; 24 grandchildren; and 40 great-grandchildren. Services: 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Moanalua Samoan Christian Church, 602 Turner Ave. Call from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Burial: Hawaiian Memorial Park.
Jaime C. Llanes, 86, of Waianae died Saturday in Leeward Integrated Health Services. Born in the Philippines, he is survived by son Jaime Jr., daughters Carmen Ryan and Linda Llanes, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Private services.
Brian L. "Kinka" Maeda, 43, of Honolulu, a former heavy equipment operator for Young Brothers in Honolulu, died Saturday in St. Francis Hospital. Born in Kohala, Hawaii, he is survived by parents Shoichi and Rose; brothers Danny S., Dennis G. and Alvin J.; and sisters Annette Reyes and Sylvia Hussey. Services: 11 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Honomakau Ward. Call from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Burial: Kohala County Cemetery. Casual attire.
Tokuhide "Tok" Nakamoto, died July 5 in Chicago. He is survived by wife Tsuru; children Gwen Chinn and Lisa and Craig Nakamoto; brothers and sisters Tokuei, Tokuichi, Tokushige, Tokumasa, Tokusei and Tokunobu Nakamoto, Yoshiko Choo, Tsuruko Wang and Sueko Dilley; and two grandchildren. Services held.
Alfredo B. Nebre, 77, of Kilauea, Kauai, an equipment operator with Princeville Corp. at the Makai Golf Course, died Friday at home. Born in the Philippines, he is survived by wife Romula L.; sons Wilfredo and Alfredo Jr.; daughters Sandi Inanod, Loreen Caberto and Didi Chock; stepsons Calvin, Jayson and Leroy Lee and Edward Parangan; stepdaughter Gwen Miguel; 29 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. Services: 5 p.m. Monday at St. Sylvester's Church. Call from 2 to 4:45 p.m. Cremation to follow. Casual attire. No flowers.
Yoshi A. "Helen" Okoji, 90, of Mililani died July 4 in Aloha Health and Rehabilitation Center. Born in Ewa, she is survived by sons George S., Noburo and Thomas S.; 11 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. Private services.
Robert M. Penrose, 21, of Kona, Hawaii, a mechanic, died Sunday in Kona Community Hospital. Born in Tamuning, Guam, he is survived by parents Kurt and Donna; brothers Roy, Richard and Ronald; and sisters Ruby, Rene and Reyanna. Services: 10 a.m. Saturday at Christ Church Episcopal. Private scattering of ashes. Casual attire. No flowers.
Patrick S. "Trash" Pololu, will be remembered in services 11 a.m. Saturday at Liliuokalani Protestant Church. Call after 9 a.m. Scattering of ashes at a later date. Casual attire. Incorrect information for an obituary published yesterday provided by the mortuary.
Tomiko Sen, 69, of Kyoto, Japan died March 9 in Kyoto, Japan. She is survived by son Soshi; children Akifumi, Makiko and Takafumi Sen and Sotan Izumi; and two grandchildren. Services: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Andrew's Cathedral.
Makie Tanaka, 95, of Kailua died May 29 in Castle Hospital. Born in Fukuoka, Japan, she is survived by sons Masami and Charles; daughters Joyce Nakagawa, Bertha, Florence and Lillian Tanaka, Violet Yoshida and Elsie Matsumura; 10 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Private services.
Deaths Elsewhere
Bettina Steinke Blair, who painted portraits of the famous and nurtured generations of Santa Fe artists, died Sunday in New Mexico. She was 86.
Better known as Bettina Steinke, she began her career in 1938 when NBC commissioned her to do a series of portraits of conductor Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Orchestra.
She focused on genre painting and portraits. Her work included portraits of President Dwight Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson, Jack Dempsey, James Cagney and Igor Stravinsky.
Steinke moved to Santa Fe in the 1960s and became a mentor for young artists such as sculptor Malcolm Alexander.
Victoria Buckley, a former Colorado secretary of state, who rose from the welfare rolls to become the nation's highest-ranking black female Republican in a statewide office, died yesterday in Denver of cardiac arrest. She was 51.
She was a deputy in the secretary of state's elections division for 20 years before taking the top post in 1994, becoming the first black woman in Colorado to hold a statewide office. At the time, Buckley was a single mother on welfare.
Among her accomplishments was returning $9 million to the state treasury from office fees.
Buckley's two terms were not without controversy.
She won re-election in November following a bitter battle over complaints that her office was in disarray because of ballot disputes.
Ruth Davidow, one of the few women who served with the Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, died June 28 in San Francisco. She was 87.
Davidow was a member of the medical team in the battalion, a volunteer group of foreigners who fought for forces that lost to the rebel fascist army.
Spain made Davidow an honorary citizen in 1996 for her service from 1936 to 1939.
Gene Hart, the Philadelphia hockey announcer known for decades as the "Voice of the Flyers," has died, in New Jersey. He was 68.
Hart was the play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Flyers on radio and television from their inaugural season in 1967-68 until 1994-95, calling the team's most thrilling moments.
His most famous call came May 19, 1974, when the Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins, 1-0, in Philadelphia for the Stanley Cup. "The Flyers win the Stanley Cup! The Flyers win the Stanley Cup!" he exclaimed, over and over.
Hart's broadcasting highlights included six Stanley Cup finals, five NHL All-Star games and two NHL-Soviet all-star series. Hart was inducted into the Flyers' Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997, one of only 20 broadcasters so honored.
In later years, the job became increasingly tough for Hart and, at the end of the 1995 season, the Flyers relieved him of his broadcasting duties and assigned him to a community relations post.
Everett Greenbaum, who collaborated with fellow writer Jim Fritzell on the 1950s television sitcom "Mr. Peepers" and other series including "The Andy Griffith Show" and "M-A-S-H," has died. He was 79.
Greenbaum died of brain cancer Sunday in Encino, his family said in a statement Monday.
Greenbaum, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Sorbonne in Paris and served in World War II as a Navy pilot and flight instructor.
After the war, he wrote, produced and starred in a Boston radio show called "Greenbaum's Gallery." Greenbaum and Fritzell teamed up in 1952 for Wally Cox's "Mr. Peepers," a collaboration that continued until Fritzell's death in 1979.
The pair earned a Peabody Award, four Emmy nominations, three Writers Guild comedy awards and the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award. They wrote eight feature films, including "Good Neighbor Sam" and "The Shakiest Gun in the West."
On his own, Greenbaum wrote two books, including the memoir "The Goldenberg Who Couldn't Dance," and worked on "The George Gobel Show." He also acted, appearing in brief roles on Griffith's "Matlock" series and other programs.
A memorial service was scheduled Saturday at the Writers Guild Theater.
Aaron "Bunny" Lapin, who put whipped cream in a spray can a half-century ago and called it Reddi-wip, died Saturday in California of heart failure. He was 85.
Reddi-wip was first sold in 1948 by St. Louis milkmen and quickly expanded throughout the United States and Canada. Lapin was soon dubbed the Whipped Cream King, and last year Time magazine listed Reddi-wip as one of the century's 100 great things for consumers, along with the pop-top can and Spam.
Half of the aerosol topping bought in the United States each year is Reddi-wip, packaged in the familiar red, white and blue can.
Lapin moved into the food business during World War II, selling Sta-Whip, a wartime substitute for whipping cream.
In 1946, Crown Cork and Seal Co. introduced the Spra-tainer, the first seamless, lined aerosol canister, and Lapin became one of Crown's first customers.
In addition to packaging Reddi-wip, Lapin's Clayton Corp. also made and sold the valves used in the cans.
Leon "Red" Romo, a trainer who spent 41 years at the Naval Academy and worked with such athletes as Roger Staubach and David Robinson, has died at 78.
Romo died Sunday at Anne Arundel Medical Center after a stroke May 21.
He was Navy's trainer from 1956 until his retirement in 1997. Romo was popular with both athletes and top brass at the academy, where he was known for his sharp wit.
Romo was a running back on the LSU football team in the 1940s. He became an assistant trainer at Columbia and then briefly head trainer at Colgate. He returned to Columbia in 1949, working as head trainer for six years. He also coached New York City's Power Memorial High School football team in 1946. Romo joined the Naval Academy staff in 1956.
Sherley Ann Williams, an author who used her experience as a migrant farmworker to write a critically acclaimed novel about black slavery, died July 8 in California of cancer. She was 54.
Williams had been working on a novel and a sequel to her 1986 historical novel, "Dessa Rose," a story about a privileged Charleston bride and a young pregnant slave. The New York Times praised the novel as "artistically brilliant, emotionally affecting and totally unforgettable."
Williams' first book of verse, "The Peacock Poems," was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award in 1975. Her second book of verse, "Some One Sweet Angel Chile," was another National Book Award nominee, and a TV performance based on the book won an Emmy Award.
Her 1992 children's book "Working Cotton" received the American Library Association Caldecott Award.
She also wrote a one-woman drama called "Letters From a New England Negro" that was performed at the National Black Theater Festival in 1991 and at the Chicago International Theater Festival in 1992.
Sadao Yamahana, a member of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and former chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDP), died of a heart attack at a Tokyo hospital yesterday, his family said. He was 63.
Yamahana, a Tokyo native, worked as a lawyer before being elected to the lower house in 1976 for the Japan Socialist Party (JSP), then the largest opposition party. His late father, Hideo Yamahana, was vice chairman of the JSP.
You can also search the Hawaii State Library System's
Hawaii Newspaper Index online for older obituaries at:
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/education/hcc/library/hiindex.html
The index, which goes back several decades,
is available via Telnet software.
