Bob McNamara builds more than homes

ELEELE — At age 14, Bob McNamara found himself living on the streets of Minot, N.D., through no troublemaking antics of his own, but because of a difficult family dynamic.

“I used to sleep in a caboose, or under the freeway underpass and get my food from a Dumpster behind the bakery,” said McNamara. “I guess that was the beginning of wanting to help people because friends had helped me.”

His giving back far exceeds what you’d expect from a busy 70-year-old superintendent of building operations for Habitat for Humanity, who didn’t have a clue what he and his wife would do when they moved to Kauai 25 years ago.

“The Lord picked us up and moved us here,” recalled McNamara, the father of three boys, five grandsons and 10 great-grandchildren. “A church friend and his wife had changed their travel plans to Kauai and offered to sell their plane tickets to us. We didn’t know what we were going to do when we got to the island, but I knew God had a plan for me. I thought it would be to help people like I had been doing in Minot.”

McNamara had worked as a general contractor in Minot and became a union journeyman carpenter on Kauai. When the opportunity arose to work for Habitat for Humanity building affordable housing, McNamara jumped at the chance. The organization remembered him from volunteer work he had done for a married couple a few years earlier. The job for Habitat for Humanity paid less than one-third of what he was making at his union position, but he believed the non-material benefits more than made up for the difference in pay.

“I was getting paid to do what I love to do,” said MacNamara. “I told Habitat that as long as I could pay my rent, put food on the table and gas in the car, I was good. I love helping people in need.”

Scott Oakley praised McNamara for all he has done for the citizens of Kauai.

 “He is always putting in 80 hours a week and getting paid for 40,” Oakley wrote. “He volunteers more than the volunteers do. He is a very patient man and knows every aspect of building a quality home.”

Habitat for Humanity is constructing 125 affordable homes in an Eleele subdivision and also repairing and renovating deteriorating properties around the island.

One of McNamara’s most memorable stories of giving involved a Hawaiian man, who McNamara said, made no secret of his dislike for white people. That is, until he got to know McNamara.

 “When (he) needed more space, my son and I spent four days building a 22 by 16 foot addendum on the side of his trailer,” recalled McNamara. “The whole thing was a blessing. He got what he needed and we became best of friends. He even ended up giving us a car to express his appreciation.”

 McNamara has endured more than his share of adversity. A tornado struck when he was 2 years old and demolished his home. He survived when his mother pulled him out of the chicken coop he was playing in and into a shelter.

Again, he escaped harm’s way in an earthquake in California, when 50 people were killed in the hospital where he worked. Then, there was the house fire that landed him in the hospital when he suffered severe burns. Devastating floods at a house in North Dakota displaced him and his family. And then there was the miracle during Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

“We were living in Anahola,” he said. “Everybody told us to evacuate because of the potential danger in the low-lying areas. When we returned after the storm, there were huge trees lying down like a wagon trail. We had to cut through them to get to the house.”

When they finally reached the house, it was in pristine condition.

“I couldn’t believe it was OK. I thanked the Lord,” said McNamara. “It’s true. What goes around comes around.”

• This is an ongoing weekly feature in The Garden Island. It focuses on everyday people who reflect the spirit that makes Kauai the place it is today.

If you know someone you would like to nominate, contact Lisa Ann Capozzi, the features/education reporter at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.