When Ah Quon McElrath finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Hawaii in 1938, she wanted to go on to graduate school.

She went to see a sociology professor to discuss the matter. “;Well, Ah Quon,”; he said, “;you've got two things which make it difficult. One, you're a woman. Two, you're Oriental.”;

McElrath was offended and later would say had she had “;more gumption”; she “;probably would have spat in his face.”; But discretion being the better part of valor, she didn't respond and never got to graduate school.

Instead, she took a job where she began to organize a union, starting her on a lifelong path of advocacy for working people, social justice and civil rights.

A diminutive figure, full of physical and mental energy, Ah Quon McElrath cut a huge swath through the history of the labor movement in Hawaii. As a volunteer, she helped establish Local 142 of the ILWU, later became the union's social worker and married a man whom she worked alongside, Bob McElrath.

McElrath retired in 1981, but never slowed down. She remained involved in various causes, from pushing for affordable housing and increased health care to serving on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents. She has been held closely and fondly by this newspaper's staff for her efforts in preventing the Star-Bulletin's shutdown in 1999.

McElrath took her advocacies seriously, but she wasn't a somber and stern soul. She loved music, playing poker, cooking and reading poetry.

She was blessed with intelligence and strength of character, and she generously shared her gifts and spirit with Hawaii. They don't make them like Ah Quon anymore.