FELIX LIMTIACO / CIVIL
ENGINEER, CONSULTANT

Former wastewater chief
inspired through work, life

More obituaries

---

By B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.com

Felix Limtiaco, former director of the Honolulu Wastewater Management Department and founder of a local consulting firm that bears his name, was remembered as an inspiration to those who knew him.

"He was always concerned about the personal lives of all the employees," said John Katahira, an associate at The Limtiaco Consulting Group, the civil engineering and environmental consulting group Limtiaco founded in 1997. "He always tried to strike a balance between work and life.

"He was just one of the inspirations to all of us here."

Limtiaco, 47, died Oct. 23 at Stanford University Medical Center in California, following complications from surgery to remove a liver tumor, said his wife, Ruth.

"He was my best friend," Ruth said, adding that her husband enjoyed activities ranging from music to martial arts.

"He was a musician who played the guitar. He liked to entertain," she said. "He was a gourmet cook. He was a good ballroom dancer. He also had a third-degree black belt in aikido."

More than that, "He was a great father," she said.

Born in Guam, Limtiaco attended Stanford and earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1977 before launching his career that covered the public and private sector.

Limtiaco served as deputy director of Wastewater Management in 1993 and 1994, and director from 1994 to 1996. During that time, the city was recognized for its work on the Nimitz Highway relief sewer project, which utilized micro-tunneling, a procedure that allows crews to work under the street without disturbing traffic.

Following his work with the city, he founded The Limtiaco Consulting Group.

In addition to his wife, Limtiaco is survived by a son, Matthew, and daughter, Kim; his mother, Ana; and six siblings.

The family has scheduled a private memorial service.