People who knew Madelyn Payne Dunham praised her professionalism and character yesterday at a public memorial service that attracted many who, though strangers, were inspired by her role in raising her grandson, the next U.S. president.

Hundreds Gather To Remember Madelyn Dunham

 

The woman that Obama credits was remembered at Punchbowl’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

 

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  About 200 people attended the evening service at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl, near the Garden Courts of the Missing monument.

Bank of Hawaii Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Landon read a message from Dunham's grandchildren, President-elect Barack Obama and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, telling the crowd, “;Tutu said there should be no tears. She spent more time raising us than did most grandmothers, and we benefited from her closeness. We are stronger and wiser because of her.”;

Dunham, 86, died Nov. 2, two days before Obama won the election. Her ashes will be buried near those of her husband, Stanley, next month in a private family service. Stanley Dunham, who served in the Army during World War II, died in 1992.

The crowd was solemn but not tearful as friends and co-workers described the “;tough and fair”; woman who, in 1970, was one of the first two women named vice presidents of Bank of Hawaii.

“;We learned from her example that one person can make a very great difference,”; said Howard Stephenson, former Bank of Hawaii chairman and chief executive officer. “;We're here today because she made a great difference, not only in her family and in her community, but now, in the entire community and, before it's all over with, the entire world.”;

Stephenson hired Dunham, newly arrived from the mainland in 1960, to establish the bank's escrow department.

“;She was the founder of the modern practice of escrow in Hawaii, a real pro,”; said Stephenson, who, like Dunham, grew up in Kansas. “;She managed to train, in spite of themselves, most of the real estate professionals in the state of Hawaii before she was through.”;

Terry Pu'uohau, who sat with several of Dunham's co-workers, said, “;She would have a fit to see this fuss being made about her. We were close to her. We would have come anyway, even if she wasn't the grandmother of this famous man.”; The old-timers were amid a large contingent from Bank of Hawaii including former executives and young, uniformly black-suited intern bankers.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka attended the service along with leaders of the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign.

Abigail Kawananakoa, who attended “;to represent the people of Hawaii,”; said Obama has “;captured our attention from the youngest to the oldest. I felt honored that someone from the islands has risen to his position. The way we're brought up in the islands, we are simpatico with each other,”; and both Dunham and Obama reflected that cultural sense, she said. Kawananakoa is a descendant of the Hawaiian monarchy.

Custom Obama Mu'umu'us Sewn In Remembrance

 

Deb Mascia of Mu'umu'u Heaven creates shirts and dresses for President Elect Barack out of fabric that once belonged to his mother and grandmother.

 

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  “;We came to honor the woman who raised our next president,”; said Adileen Ohanaja, of Houston. She and Ngozi Oleru of Seattle canceled scheduled tours for the opportunity “;to make this connection.”; Both women were born in Oboama, Nigeria, which they consider grounds “;to claim him before that village (Obama) in Japan.”;

Helen Osgood, a former co-worker and friend, told the crowd Dunham “;was very pleased with her daughter and grandchildren's educational accomplishments. It took her daughter Ann quite a while to earn a doctorate. Last December, Maya received her doctoral degree, and Madelyn was so proud. She told me both her grandchildren were brilliant, and she loved and adored her three great-grandchildren.”;

David Pietsch, president of Title Guaranty Escrow Services, said in tribute, “;You were a mentor for your family, and I think you did an excellent job; you were a mentor for the Escrow Association of Hawaii, and you elevated us to another height. We knew you were an intellect and also you had common sense.”;

Several leis and floral arrangements were placed before a large portrait of Dunham. One bouquet was from the Augusta, Kan., high school class of 1940, classmates of the Dunhams' only child. Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, died in 1995 of ovarian cancer.