THOMAS BODDEN / 1945-2004
Maui attorney
never stopped giving
WAILUKU >> Despite hardly being able to talk because of a progressive form of muscular dystrophy, Maui attorney Thomas Bodden continued to serve on the board at St. Anthony schools and helped them with their expansion plans.
"He was a very unselfish man," said friend Donna Ting. "All I can say is, God bless him. To the end he made a difference."
Bodden, 58, died Monday in his Wailuku home under hospice care.
Bodden was honored by two professional associations on Maui last year.
He was named "Lawyer of the Year 2002" by the Maui County Bar Association and also received special recognition from the Realtors Association of Maui at an installation luncheon in October.
Real estate agent Gerri DeBeer said Bodden conducted himself as a gentleman, "always smiling and upbeat."
"That's what I'll miss," she said.
Bodden, born in Lafayette, Ind., on Dec. 18, 1945, wrote a weekly newspaper column on the Valley Isle for 23 years and had been on numerous volunteer boards, including past service as president of the Hawaii Association of Realtors and the Kihei Community Association.
He was a past chairman of international activities and regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors and was a founding director of the Eastern European Real Property Foundation, taking trips to Eastern Europe to teach private-property concepts to governments and citizens.
Bodden also was a past chairman of the Maui division of the Navy League and a past member of the boards of trustees of Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation and Hospice Maui.
He and his wife helped to raise $70,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in November by sponsoring "Harvesting Hope on Maui," the first of a planned annual series of dinner-auctions.
Bodden, a graduate of Cornell University and University of Miami School of Law, also had taught real estate and real estate law classes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and two community colleges.
He began practicing law in Honolulu in 1979 and moved to Maui after marrying his wife in 1980.
He is survived by wife Irene, daughter Wendee, sons Todd and Christopher, brothers John and Paul, and two grandsons.
A funeral service was scheduled for today at St. Anthony Church with visitation at 9:30 a.m., followed by a Mass at noon. The family requests casual attire and no flowers.
