Physician, developer
and volunteer Raymond
Chung Yap dies at 88

Barrett McCandless dead at 62

By Eloise Aguiar
Star-Bulletin

Although at one time the Kahaluu Fish Pond development plan included hotels and apartments, the longer Dr. Raymond Chung Yap owned the property the less inclined he was to build on it, said Linda Wong, his daughter.

Once a dumping ground for rubbish and old cars, the Hawaiian cultural site has been restored, landscaped and is home to the Aloha Ke Akua wedding chapel. The chapel generates enough income to pay a yearly property tax of $20,000 and wages for four employees, Wong said.

Yap, a retired Honolulu physician and property developer, died Dec. 17 at St. Francis Medical Center. Born Jan. 10, 1911 in Kau, Hawaii, he graduated from McKinley High School, attended Tulane University and earned his doctor's degree from St. John's University in Shanghai, China.

He purchased the Windward fish pond about 50 years ago and, along with partners, proposed to develop the area around the pool in the mid-1960s. Yap wasn't able to obtain the necessary permits and the property was eventually rezoned. Several people subsequently tried to buy the site, but Wong said he'd begun to appreciate its historic value.

"As the years went on, he realized how special this particular fish pond was," Wong said this week. "His dream was that we never sell this property."

Most of Yap's other developments were smaller, she said. But in 1960 he sponsored the visionary construction of what was billed as the tallest building in Hawaii, on his property across from Ala Moana Center. The 30-story Metropolitan Tower, designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, won a design award, but was never built.

In 1939, Yap was appointed as the Maui County Health Officer and in 1952 was named to the Board of Harbors Commission. He donated 25 years of volunteer service as physician to the McKinley High School football team and became the chairman of the Medical Board for the State Retirement System in 1972.

Yap is survived by his wife, Carol Wai Tor Chang; daughters Linda Y. Wong and Roberta Yap; and grandson Christopher Scott Wong.

Private services were held at his Kahaluu wedding chapel. Donations may be made in his name to St. Francis Hospital of St. Peter's Church.

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Barrett McCandless,
teacher of distinction,
dead at 62

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

Every morning, students could come to Barrett B. McCandless' office and leave with something that could improve the rest of their lives, her eldest daughter remembers.

In recent years, McCandless -- formerly executive director of the Armed Services Special Education and Training School, or ASSETS -- had dedicated herself to educational and diagnostic testing for children and adults not reaching their full potential.

"She just heard over and over again from families how much of a difference her work had made in their lives, both at ASSETS and her testing work," daughter Margaret McCandless Niver said. "Her focus was to find out what worked best."

McCandless, 62, of Kailua, died Sunday.

McCandless was born in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., on Sept. 18, 1937. She married Navy pilot John McCandless and moved to Hawaii when he was transferred here. She began teaching at ASSETS School in 1971.

Under her leadership, U.S. Department of Education named ASSETS a Blue Ribbon Elementary School. The Girl Scouts recognized her as a distinguished alumna. Doctors, parents and educators said her reports had helped them find the best path for individual students, Niver said.

Leaving ASSETS in 1995, McCandless started Educational Testing Services and continued to worked full-time testing people from Hawaii, the mainland and other countries.

"She just loved it and she loved making a difference," Niver said.

McCandless is survived by daughters Margaret McCandless Niver of San Francisco, Calif. and Catherine Elizabeth McCandless of Seattle, Wash.; hanai sons Ron, Tracey and Ming and sister Saunders Proctor King of Raleigh, N.C.

Private services were held. Donations in McCandless' memory can be made to the American Stroke Association c/o the Hawaii Chapter of the American Heart Association.