Aloha, Aunty Genoa

Thousands mourn the late falsetto vocalist

The life and rich musical legacy of beloved Hawaiian entertainer Genoa Keawe were honored yesterday by a steady stream of people who came to Borthwick Mortuary to bid one last aloha in an open-casket viewing.

Aunty Genoa, as she was known, lay in a white casket draped with leis and with an arrangement of roses resting on the bottom half, with a red ribbon saying, "Beloved Mother."

Musicians and entertainers played and sang throughout the extended viewing, doing short sets in honor of Keawe -- among them Danny Kaleikini, Jimmy Borges, the Brothers Cazimero, Na Palapalai, Kealoha Kalama, Nina Keali'iwahamana, Mike Ka'awa, Ledward Ka'apana, Palani Vaughn, John Cruz, Melveen Leed, Ka'eo Costa, Karen Keawehawai'i, Raiatea Helm, Frank Hewitt, Bill Kaiwa and Jerry Santos, who performed twice at the family's request.

Santos did the same special song, Emma DeFries' "E Ku'u Sweet Lei Po'ina 'Ole," a favorite of Keawe's that he also played at her hospital bed before she died Feb. 25. For the second performance, he was accompanied by Hoku Zuttermeister as the girls and women of Keawe's fourth and fifth generation of descendants did a hula before the casket.

"During my last years at the Hilton -- which, coincidentally, ended this past weekend," said Santos, "Aunty would drop by a couple of times a month and sit in on our last set. I miss her very much, but I guess it's time for new beginnings."

Lap steel guitarist Bobby Ingano, who sat in many times with Keawe and her band during her weekly gigs in Waikiki over the years, recalled that he once asked her, "'You're in a wheelchair now. Don't you want to stay at home?'

"And she replied, 'I'd rather die onstage.'"

Abigail Kawananakoa brought flowers earlier in the day. Bill Souza of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I said that his society and other Hawaiian groups were there "to not only honor her as a legend, but as an icon. We are all related to her and her family. Our being here signifies the importance she played in the family life of our culture."

Said University of Hawaii instructor Jay Junker, "People came with leis in their hands, love in their hearts and sweet memories in their minds that will never be forgotten."

Others who came to pay their respects included Dennis and David Kamakahi, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, George Naope, Frank De Lima, Marlene Sai and Kimo Kahoano.

Speaking to the news media after the private noon service for just the family, son Eric Keawe said his mother, at heart, "was a very innocent young lady. She would be wondering what all of this fuss was all about and that she doesn't deserve it.

"I'm happy, and proud, of the influence she's had not only in the state of Hawaii, but the world," he said. "I already miss her."

He said that despite the fact that his mother's health was failing during the past decade or so, "her spirit and mind were still sharp, and she was still that individual to her very last day."

Doors at Borthwick opened at 2 p.m., and by 5 p.m. all 5,000 printed programs were gone. When the evening service began about an hour later, the chapel was filled, with the overflow crowd listening in on outdoor speakers.

Niece Cecilia Fong opened the evening portion of the service with her rendition of "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked." The invocation was done by grandson Rory Lono, and the eulogy by sons Eric and Gary Keawe-Aiko.

From a group that included 40 grandchildren, 98 great-grandchildren and 81 great-great-grandchildren, memories were shared of "Tutu" by granddaughter Roxanne See, great-grandson Tiki Sagapolutele and great-great-grandchildren Dustin and Megan Pa'alani and Ka'ila See.

Accompanied by pianist Ron Miyashiro, Keawe-Aiko sang, in a mellifluous baritone, one of his mother's favorite religious songs -- one that she sang in her bed before she died -- "Because God Made Thee Mine."

Genoa Keawe will be laid to rest today at the Laie Cemetery after services at the Auwaiolimu Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With the Royal Hawaiian Band playing in the background, her casket will be borne, in turn, by four groups of six pallbearers each.

Expecting upward of 2,000 people, the Laie service will be made up of those "who grew up with Mom," son Eric said. "It'll be their last farewell to a special friend."