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Hard-working, a loving husband and a devoted father to all of his six children -- these are the words family members used to describe Frederick Mathew Hemmings Sr., who died Saturday after a long illness. He was 85. Fred Hemmings Sr.
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dies at 85By Janine Tully
Star-BulletinHis son, state Sen. Fred Hemmings of Kailua, remembered his father as a "feisty character" with a great sense of humor who loved to tell stories.
"He was quite humorous despite his gruff style," said Hemmings. "But most important, he did the best he could with his life, and he raised 'six wonderful children,' as he liked to call us."
Hemmings Sr. instilled in all six of his children a love of the ocean and ocean sports, including surfing and paddling. He had no problem getting up at 5 in the morning to take the boys to a Makaha surfing contest.
"He was very driven and competitive himself," said Fred Hemmings, who remembers his father getting up at 4:30 a.m. to get a good spot to hold campaign signs during his first bid for office.
"He'd fight for the corner of Kapahulu and Ala Wai," he said.
The son of a Navy man, Hemmings moved with his parents to Hawaii when he was 7 years old. An avid paddler, he joined the Outrigger Canoe Club at 12 and in 1934 was a member of the four-man junior championship paddling team. He was a member of the first Roosevelt High School graduating class in 1933, along with his friend Lex Brodie.
Fred Hemmings remembered his father pointing to a huge banyan tree on campus and saying: "Lex and I planted that damn banyan tree." The banyan tree is still there, said Fred Jr.
Brodie remembered his classmate as a "a man with a wonderful personality, who was liked by everyone."
After graduating from high school, Hemmings attended the University of Hawaii. He later joined the Honolulu Police Department, where he was a detective. He was a member of the Army's Air Corps during World War II, and became a lieutenant colonel in the Air Corps reserves. Hemmings worked at various state airports, retiring as state assistant airport manager.
In 1938 he married Lillian Freitas of Honolulu, whom he called "the most beautiful woman on Earth," according his sister-in-law, Sybil Gier of Kailua. Prone to giving nicknames, he called his wife "Mother Flower" because of her strong Catholic views, and had a nickname for each of his children. He called Fred Jr. "bully boy," a name he later changed to "small Fred," recalled Fred Jr.
Hemmings Sr. was a family man who loved his children, said Gier. "He was adamant about treating all six children equal. What one gets the other five get in equal share."
He was also a loving husband who for years went to Mass at 6 a.m. every day in memory of his wife who died in 1983, Gier said.
Hemmings Sr. is survived by sons Mark, Fred Jr. and Aka; daughters Cynthia Leonard, Maria Hemmings and Heidi Hemmings-Hall; 10 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Star of The Sea Church. Burial will follow at Diamond Head Memorial Park. The family asks that instead of flowers, donations be made to the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation.