LIHU‘E — Gennii Andersen, Kaua‘i’s oldest woman veteran, and known for her adventurous spirit and ready wit, quietly passed on Aug. 26 at 104 years old.
Born Genevieve E. Pruett on Dec. 28, 1917 in Phoenix, Arizona, Genevieve earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a teaching credential, states a release from Andersen’s family.
Though she taught high school briefly, Gennii knew this was not her calling.
Instead, she joined the U.S. Coast Guard in February, 1943 shortly after the service opened its ranks to women.
Serving with the USCG Women’s Reserve, or SPARS as the group was known, Gennii rose in the ranks to Lieutenant Junior Grade through her success as a recruiter in both Kansas City, Missouri, and Columbus, Ohio. She more recently celebrated her 100th birthday by being invited to pilot the USCG Motor Life Boat stationed at the USCG Station Kaua‘i at Nawiliwili in December, 2017.
Gennii continued to make pioneering career choices, working as a police reporter at a Kansas City radio station where she was assigned to provide journalistic coverage of murders and the mob. During this tenure, Gennii used the GI Bill to secure her private pilot’s license, using this to take controls for the final time on Kaua‘i in celebration of her 90th birthday.
Following the death of her husband Andy Andersen, Gennii accepted a friend’s offer to house and pet sit on Kaua‘i. That prompted her to move to the Garden Island where she continued to care for houses and pets through her 90s. She was a longtime member of the Mokihana Club, and the Lihu‘e United Church, and active in the Kaua‘i veterans’ community.
Gennii was blessed with many faithful friends, including current Kaua‘i Veterans Council commander Mary Kay Hertog, a retired General with the U.S.Air Force. The family sends special thanks to Monet Blaine and Estrella Tesoro who helped Gennii live independently until age 102, and to Annette Rivera, for her loving caregiving.
Gennii is survived by a step-grandson, and step-great-granddaughter in California.
The USCG will scatter her ashes at sea in a private ceremony. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Kaua‘i Humane Society, or the Kaua‘i Veterans Center and Museum.
A memorial plaque will be installed at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center at a future date.
Gennii was a big fan of the Lihue A’s senior softball team and would come out to the games before Covid where she would cheer loudly and drink a beer with the team after the game. Aloha Gennii.