• Donna Maxine (Friend) Schulze • Alyssa Cecelia Gutierrez Donna Maxine (Friend) Schulze Donna Maxine (Friend) Schulze, the Lavender Lady of Kilauea, 92 years old, passed away peacefully on April 27, at Wilcox Memorial Hospital. Born on May 27, 1924, in Decatur
• Donna Maxine (Friend) Schulze • Alyssa Cecelia Gutierrez
Donna Maxine (Friend) Schulze
Donna Maxine (Friend) Schulze, the Lavender Lady of Kilauea, 92 years old, passed away peacefully on April 27, at Wilcox Memorial Hospital. Born on May 27, 1924, in Decatur Illinois to Oscar and Hazel Mae (Dukes) Friend, she is preceded in death by her parents, her husband George Schulze of Kilauea and 2 children – Melodye Dabney and Joey Swanson, as well as Glenn Petrini (husband of Gay Holden) and grandson Michael Doyle. She is survived by her 4 children: Happy Holden (Lydia) of Zeeland, Michigan; Jolly Holden (Lynda) of Marietta, Georgia; Gay Holden of Hollywood, Florida; and Honey Charles (William “BC”) of Hanamaulu, as well as 9 grandchildren and hanai granddaughter, and 14 great-grandchildren. Donna was a former executive director of the YMCA of Kauai (first woman to ever hold this position) and a retired school teacher and athletics coach, called “Coach Grandma” by many.
Donna’s community service to Kauai spanned decades, and during that time she received several community awards: Volunteer of the Year, Kauai YMCA (1984), Aloha Spirit (1995), Kauai’s outstanding senior woman (1997), and Family court volunteer. An avid runner, she and George joined the Garden Island Roadrunners and completed the first Kauai marathon in 1978 and, as a result, received the Presidential sports award from President Jimmy Carter in 1978. In later years, she won Kauai’s #1 Wahine Runner Award, and continued running until she was 88. Her running career spanned 218 races including that encompassed 5 marathons and 4 half-marathons.
A memorial celebration of her life will be held at the Kauai Christian Fellowship, 4000 Kilauea Rd., Kilauea; Saturday, May 27, 2 to 4 p.m. The family requests aloha or casual attire, and in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to YMCA of Kauai, 4477 Nuhou St, Lihue, HI 96766.
Alyssa Cecelia Gutierrez
Alyssa Cecelia Gutierrez of Kapaa passed away on May 7, at the age of 29. She was born in San Diego, California on February 28, 1988, and was a housekeeper.
Alyssa is survived by her daughter, Isabella Marisol Olson, sister, Julia Dickens, mother, Gabrielle (Gary) Wilson.
A celebration of her life was held on Kauai. Private services will be held in California at a later date.
Kauai Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home assisted the Gutierrez family with arrangements.
