Isle woman plans
By Harold Morse
memorial Mass for
Kennedys, Bessette
Star-BulletinHonolulu writer Kristin Zambucka has arranged for a memorial Mass to be held for John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette.
The Mass will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Augustine By-The-Sea Waikiki, 130 Ohua Ave.
"I knew his aunts well," said Zambucka, also a film producer. "I'm sure there are a lot of people here who want to pay their respects."
She became acquainted with two of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s aunts when they visited Hawaii, she said.
"It goes back four or five years. Jean Kennedy Smith and Pat Kennedy Lawford came here with their children," she said.
They all met in the Kahala home of Rose Marie Alvaro at a New Year's Eve party, became immediate friends and spent time together later, Zambucka said. "I entertained them."
She recalled that JFK Jr.'s cousins William Kennedy Smith and Christopher Lawford, his wife and children also were here at the time.
She has kept in touch with the Kennedy family, has visited them on the mainland and once met JFK Jr., she said.
"One day, I happened to be at Pat's apartment (in New York in 1996), and he and his new bride came in."
They were hurrying somewhere in evening clothes but were very gracious, Zambucka said.
She met Robert Kennedy Jr. recently when he was here with his sister Kerry, married to Andrew Cuomo, son of the former New York governor, she said.
Zambucka's television credits include "A Cry of Peacocks," a documentary based on her research into the life of Princess Kaiulani; "Secret Blossoms," which emphasizes Hawaiian practices and beliefs; and "Hulau: the Changing Tide," which deals with the spiritual journey of Hawaiians.
No Kennedy relatives will attend the Wednesday Mass here.
