Happy Birthday, Marie Wong Wagner!

Celebrating Marie Wong Wagner’s birthday (September): Charlene Leong Santee, Nicky Agpalo, Marie’s sister Betty Kudo, Mary Jo Leineweber Culvyhouse, Pattie Wong Heatherly, Marie Wong Wagner,  Sandra Young, Linda Wong Kealoha, Suzanne Furuya Matsuda, and Sylvia Ching Ching.

Celebrating Tessie Villarama Adams' Visit to Honolulu!

Recent get-together at Sandy Lum Young’s place, catching up with Tessie Villarama Adams. From left to right: Nicky Agpalo, Wendell and Anne Konn, Mary Jo Leineweber Culvyhouse, Sandra Young, Marie Wong Wagner, Tessie Villarama Adams, John Adams, Suzanne Furuya Matsuda, Charlene Leong Santee, Pattie Wong Heatherly, and Frank O'calvey.

Another Blast from the Past - with Thanks to Malcolm Chang

From Malcolm's Facebook post:

"I was requested by someone that I was in the third through the sixth grades with to send her class photos of those years. Last time I saw her was when we were in the sixth grade together at Manoa Elementary School. While looking for those photos, I came across this "gem" that I thought I would post on this site. Enjoy the laughs folks....we haven't aged that much, have we ???"

Editor's Note:  I can name just about everyone in the 50+-years-old picture below - but I can't remember what I had for dinner last night.  Enjoy!!

Roy Shults: More Thoughts on Grandfatherhood and Some Other Stuff

Great reports and pictures!  Yes, I am enjoying my grandfather status far too much, maybe because the only other baby I ever helped raise was my brother, born the summer before our freshman year. My parents being, well, my parents, I had to take care of him a lot while juggling all we had to do as freshmen at Maryknoll. As a retiree, taking care of my grandson is a breeze in comparison.

And Brian [Spitzer], there was at least one other military brat at the reunion--ME! A Navy brat though, not Air Force. I'd love to reconnect with Susie Gerwig, too. Our years at Maryknoll didn't overlap, but by the small world phenomenon, we were classmates at Aliamanu Intermediate, as it was then called, for 7th and 8th grade.

I feel as Yuki does about Hawai'i, despite my minimal Polynesian ancestry and not living there. I have felt a powerful bond with Hawai'i and its people since I first stepped foot there in 1960, and that remains. I hope I live long enough to take my grandson there one day. With all that non-Hawai'ian humans have done to try to destroy it and the kanaka maoli, it persists as, to me, the most beautiful place on earth.

As Mr. Spock was wont to say, I say to all of you, "Live long and prosper."

With much aloha,

Roy Shults

Yuklin Aluli: Thoughts on Living in Hawai'i

I am always grateful to live Hawaii.  We have the tradewinds, occasional hurricanes and tsunamis, now the ongoing volcanic vog, 10 million tourists a year and the American military industrial complex, but it is always a blessing to come home.

Yuki

UPDATE 2018: Deborah Cotton Lipsett

I have a brand new granddaughter to announce! Clara Hope Lipsett was born yesterday, August 7th. The daughter of my son Andrew and his wife Emily. Clara joins her brother Henry, age 5. Their sweet sister Ida was stillborn in 12/15 so Clara's safe arrival feels like a miracle to us. I also have a granddaughter Abigail Martinez who is 18 months and SO adorable, the daughter of my youngest, Katherine, and her husband Rafael. Middle child Susan Lipsett remains single but very happy. ALL three children live in the Boston area near Roger and me. I cannot believe our good fortune in that regard. 

All my kids heard many stories of Hawaii while  growing up from me and from my mother Mary Cotton (1922-2011). My Dad died at 55 in 1977, alas, and never met his 6 grandchildren who started arriving in 1978.  He loved the Islands. After he died my mother never ventured back until our whole family, including my brother and his 3 kids, went back in 2006 for my 40th at Maryknoll. We ended up blindly renting houses that belong to Yuki! Susan Chong Wong, Patsy Wong Young, Yuki and others organized a party for us at the houses. Such a great memory. I miss Patsy so much. She was my closest friend and neighbor in those years and our mothers were also very close. I recently found a beautiful letter she wrote me after the birth of her daughter. If anyone knows how to reach her daughter, let me know so I can send it to her?

I have been back to Hawaii only once more since the reunion, in 2013, to Maui for a work trip. I flew right back as Henry was only a couple of days old  and I was eager to see him. 

Roger has retired and I plan to essentially retire at the end of the year. Hawaii is high on the travel list especially for winter trips! I stay in touch most closely with Marilyn Coffman through Facebook. It turned out Marilyn lived within two miles of my brother in Pasadena for decades but I did not know. He has now retired outside SF. How much fun we could have had during my visits to see him! For all that is wrong with Facebook I think it is going to be boon for keeping people together who are far-flung and as we age and cannot travel.

I hope you are all well. Remembering our youth with such fondness!

Deborah Cotton Lipsett

Clara, Henry, and Ida

Clara Hope Lipsett

UPDATE 2018: Roy Shults is a Grandfather!

From Roy Shults:

Meet Kallias Garrison Manolakas, our new grandson, born April 8 (the old wreck on the left is me). He’s only 1/8 Greek, but our youngest daughter identifies with her Greek heritage, just as my wife does. His first name is very rare, shared by only five others in the U.S. it means “Beaty” in Classical Greek, and was the name of a warrior who fought at Marathon and was later ambassador to the Persian Empire.

Mostly he is just an adorable, unfussy, enchanting baby. I babysit him 25-30 hours a week now. I utterly love him, and enjoy every minute with him, from playing to feeding to diaper changing, and it gives our daughter precious free time.