George Kawakami, a son of Kaua’i, a World War II veteran and a business and Democratic Party leader, died Saturday in Seattle, Wash. He was 78. A former member of the board of directors of Big Save, Inc., he was
George Kawakami, a son of Kaua’i, a World War II veteran and a business and Democratic Party leader, died Saturday in Seattle, Wash.
He was 78.
A former member of the board of directors of Big Save, Inc., he was in the Pacific Northwest to visit his children and grandchildren, something he did regularly after he retired from business about a decade ago.
His family was expected to return to Kaua’i today with his remains. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Kawakami was the brother of Big Save president Charles Kawakami and the late Richard Kawakami, long-time member of the state House of Representatives.
The impact of Kawakami’s death is being felt across Kaua’i and as far away as Washington, D.C., where yesterday U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye bemoaned the untimely death of his “brother.” Kawakami also was Inouye’s Kaua’i congressional liaison for many years.
“George has been my friend and my brother since we were in grammar school. Our fathers were classmates, and our families were very close,” Inouye said. “We volunteered for the Army and served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team together. We fought hard and always looked out for one another.
“Returning to Kaua’i will be different. George will not be there to meet me. I will miss him.”
Equally emotional yesterday was Gary Baldwin, Kaua’i member of the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, member of the Kaua’i County Planning Commission and an entrepreneur taken under Kawakami’s wing when he first arrived on Kaua’i.
“George was the closest thing to a father that I ever had,” said Baldwin, whose real father died when he was a teenager.
Kawakami and Noboru Yamane, who served together in WWII, “taught me everything I know about giving to the community, giving back to the community,” said Baldwin.
Kawakami “was my surrogate father,” Baldwin said.
Kawakami graduated from high school in 1941 and promptly enlisted in the Army at a time when members of his family were being eyed as potential Japanese sympathizers.
Running a successful Lihu’e furniture store was among the many enterprises Kawakami headed during his entrepreneurial career on his home island.
He lived in Lihu’e.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
