PATSY MINK / 1927 — 2002

DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Two honor guards stood watch over the casket as a thousand mourners filed past to pay tribute.

Hawaii mourns

Mourners leave flowers, pay respects
and share stories about
the beloved isle figure

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By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com

Long before the 10 a.m. memorial service, admirers carrying fresh flower bouquets and leis began filing into the state Capitol this morning to bid their final goodbye to U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink.

The crowd grew to about 1,500 by the time U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt took to the podium to remember his colleague who was famous for her fiery advocation of the poor and underprivileged.

"This strong-willed woman changed the face of America forever," said Gephardt, the House minority leader.

Gephardt was referring to Mink's authorship of Title IX -- the federal legislation prohibiting gender discrimination at educational institutions funded by federal money.

In her honor, Congress renamed the landmark legislation this week the Patsy Mink Act, he said.

"Imagine now, contemplate the thousands of young women who have access not just to sports but to education, to opportunities," Gephardt said.

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM The casket of Patsy Mink arrived at the Capitol yesterday afternoon, where it was to lie in state. Following were Mink's daughter, Wendy, and her husband, John, accompanied by Gov. Ben Cayetano.

"Doors have been opened for thousands of women and will continue to be opened for thousands of women because of Patsy Mink," he said.

Calling her an American hero, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, said Mink's weapons were her words. "Her mark is clearly made in our nation's history."

Gephardt and Inouye led a 25-member Congressional delegation who flew to Honolulu for the service.

Dignitaries also included Gov. Ben Cayetano, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (the minority whip), U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who wiped tears from his eyes after filing past Mink's casket.

Mink's husband, John, and her daughter, Wendy, were seated in the front row. They dabbed their eyes to wipe away tears as the dignitaries spoke about Mink.

The memorial service today includes eulogies by congressional members, Cayetano, a relative of Mink and others. Mink was to be buried this afternoon at the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

Mink died Saturday after a nearly monthlong bout with viral pneumonia that was brought on by chickenpox. She was 74. Her body lay in state at the Capitol overnight for the public to pay respects.

Family, friends and hundreds of supporters surrounded John and Wendy Mink, who listened as the crowd sang "Aloha 'Oe."

Mourners found themselves sharing stories and memories with each other after filing past Mink's flag-draped casket yesterday at the state Capitol courtyard.

Stories like the one in which Patsy Mink was parallel-parking a boatlike Buick on the streets of Washington brought laughs and tears to Allicyn Hikida Tasaka.

"We had to get out of the car (to help direct her) so she could park," chuckled Tasaka, a friend who is Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono's press secretary. "It was hilarious."

Telling how Mink took her on a search for German food, Tasaka said: "She drove. She actually drove. So we had this wild time driving the streets of Washington, D.C., going down one wrong-way street, not being able to find the restaurant. And then we found the restaurant, and then we had to find parking."

Yesterday afternoon began on a somber note.

At about 3:25 p.m. a police motorcade escorted the hearse carrying Mink's casket along Beretania Street to the Capitol.

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM Jenny Quezon was on hand to pay tribute to Patsy Mink. Quezon, who works in the governor's office, worked closely with Mink's office.

"Ah, here she comes," said Maile McKeague, who sat next to her husband, Charlie, and their mixed-breed dogs, Missy and Hoku. The McKeagues, who were among many people who did not know Mink personally, were taking their dogs to the park when they stopped to pay their respects.

"Oh, how sad," Maile McKeague remarked.

As the motorcade approached, the Royal Hawaiian Band played the song "Pua Carnation."

Band Director Aaron Mahi said the song was the band's bouquet to Mink and her family.

"I decided to choose a flower because we always bring bouquets and flowers for the person that passes," Mahi said. "(The song) talks about a loved one that you feel close to and someone that you're going to miss and the pain you feel."

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM Patsy Mink's daughter, Wendy, left, and husband, John, center, stood with Gov. Ben Cayetano yesterday shortly after Mink's casket arrived to lie in state in the Capitol courtyard.

Behind the hearse was a limousine carrying Mink's husband, John, and their daughter, Wendy, along with Gov. Ben Cayetano. As the casket was pulled from the hearse, the Minks buried their faces in tissues and clutched each other. Cayetano at one point put his arm around John Mink.

A gantlet of friends, relatives, supporters and strangers lined the path that a military honor guard took as it carried Mink's casket to its resting place for the evening. The casket was placed beneath a white tent at the center of the Capitol courtyard. Fragrant maile leis adorned a framed poster-size portrait of Mink above the casket.

Funeral wreaths lined the perimeter of the tent. "Beloved wife and mother," said one wreath with purple dendrobiums, yellow orchids and ferns. A green and white anthurium wreath was signed by "Congressman Neil Abercrombie and staff."

The U.S. House of Representatives, where Mink served for 24 years, also sent a wreath.

Dozens of women, men and children holding flowers surrounded the Capitol in a human lei of aloha.

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM A human lei was formed around the Capitol, sponsored by several women's and community organizations.

Michelle Berntson of San Leandro, Calif., arrived in Hawaii for vacation on the day Mink died.

"I'm here to pay my respects to her because I'm a politically conscious person, and whether it's my individual representative or somebody else ... if they vote for initiatives and bills that will benefit me, then I respect them more."

Berntson knew of Mink's work -- especially Title IX -- from the time she was in high school in 1976. That was when she went on a field trip with her government class to the nation's capital.

"We sat in on one of her sessions," said Berntson, who said Mink stood out because there were few women. "She wasn't an old man."

DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Pall bearers from the U.S. Air Force carry Patsy Mink’s flag-draped casket from under the canopy at the start of today’s funeral services at the State Capitol rotunda.