LIHU‘E — Dr. Raymond Chuan, 86, of Hanalei and Pasadena, Calif., was called a lot of things during his two-plus decades on Kaua‘i: — Candidate; — Advocate; — Role model; — Physicist; — Mentor; — Nitpicker; — Husband; — Father.
LIHU‘E — Dr. Raymond Chuan, 86, of Hanalei and Pasadena, Calif., was called a lot of things during his two-plus decades on Kaua‘i:
— Candidate;
— Advocate;
— Role model;
— Physicist;
— Mentor;
— Nitpicker;
— Husband;
— Father.
Close friends and admirers gathered Wednesday afternoon in the cafeteria of G.N. Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu‘e to say their farewells to a man most well known for his frequent appearances before the Kaua‘i County Council.
He ran for a seat on the council in 2002, finishing in 10th place in both the primary and general elections.
“He’d have been a great councilman,” said Glenn Mickens of Wailua Homesteads, another of the so-called “nitpickers” who still makes frequent appearances before the council.
Chuan suffered a stroke, and his son, Jason Chuan, 51, of Pasadena, Calif., came to the island to bring his father to the Silverado Senior Living – The Huntington, in Alhambra, near Pasadena, where Jason Chuan lives.
Ray Chuan is the “best consumer advocate this county ever had,” said Mickens.
While he spent a lot of time testifying before the council on everything from the budget to pay raises to taxes, he also spent a lot of time on his beloved Hanalei Bay and Hanalei River, near his Hanalei home, taking water-quality samples.
Jason Chuan said it is his father’s wish to have his ashes scattered in Hanalei Bay.
Dr. Carl Berg took more than a few water samples with Chuan, and said Chuan converted an area under his house into the water analytical laboratory.
“Ray was real important in the North Shore boating issue,” said Berg. Community activism eventually led then-Gov. Ben Cayetano to ban all commercial boating operations in Hanalei.
Chuan’s Limu Coalition was the predecessor of the Hanalei Watershed Hui, now bolstered with a large federal Environmental Protection Agency grant to continue monitoring Hanalei River and Hanalei Bay water quality, said Berg.
“He was out there all the time doing water sampling. He was very concerned about that,” said Berg.
“He was a real mentor to me. I’m just really blessed” to be able to know and work with him, Berg said of Chuan.
Chuan used his science background to fuel his community activism for the benefit of the people of Kaua‘i, said Berg.
Chuan brought his scientific precision, his way of analyzing things, his analytical outlook, to issues he brought to the council, Berg said.
A member for several years of the National Science Foundation grant-review panel, Chuan also taught space science at the University of Southern California for several years after receiving his doctorate degree in physics and particle physics from the California Institute of Technology.
“Ray was one of America’s top scientists” and active in the space program, Berg said.
Asked if Chuan made a difference by his activism, state Sen. Ron Kouchi, D-Kaua‘i-Ni‘ihau, said, “Anytime you raise the level of debate you make a difference. He’s a very smart man.”
Chuan did not get everything he wanted passed before the council, said Kouchi, who served on the council for most of the time when Chuan made regular appearances.
He accurately predicted that the burgeoning waste-to-energy plans the county mulled several years ago would not be economically sustainable, said Kouchi.
Chuan was an “involved citizen,” impressed Kouchi with the way he presented himself, and was “very articulate,” said Kouchi.
Kouchi was at the hospital for Chuan’s going-away gathering.
Kouchi said Chuan and Walter Lewis, a retired attorney from Princeville and a columnist for The Garden Island, not only brought intelligent dialogue before the council, but also called upon their substantial professional and personal contacts.
“Their knowledge is extensive, and their contacts as well, served them well. I’m not surprised they are friends,” said Kouchi.
“You’re my hero. You have always been,” said an emotional Elaine Dunbar of Lihu‘e. “We’re going to miss you. God bless you Ray.”
Jason Chuan said it took years to prepare to move his father, who suffered memory loss and other complications due to the stroke.
“I just want him to be happy and comfortable.” Jason Chuan has a room decorated with all kinds of Hanalei memorabilia for his father, he said.
“He’s really become a Hanalei boy,” said Kaua‘i County Council Chair Jay Furfaro.
Jason Chuan has set up a facebook page under his father’s name, where he will offer updated information on Ray Chuan’s condition, Jason Chuan said.
“I’m equally grateful to everybody here,” said Jason Chuan, who predicted Ray Chuan could easily return to Kaua‘i for visits.
“You never can tell with my dad. Duracell batteries have nothing on him.”
“He was my mentor, but no one will ever be able to fill his shoes,” said Mickens.
“I try and never forget the lessons that Ray taught me even though I know that when a Ray Chuan comes along the mold he came from will never again be equaled,” said Mickens.
“We all owe Ray a debt for the tireless work he did to protect the environment and stand up to corruption and ineptitude in all governments, local to national,” said Arius Hopman of Hanapepe.
“Ray taught me the absolute importance of speaking truth to power, with dignity, patience, authority of fact and unwavering courage. I remember Ray standing up to Admiral Mike Mullen, then head of PMRF and now chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a hearing on the issue of the deadly sonar the Navy was unnecessarily using for underwater communication,” said Hopman.
“Ray’s facts about whale killings cut through the fluff and pomp of a room full of Navy personnel. We need more mentors like Ray.
“One day our society would be wise to learn to honor, nurture and support warriors like Ray. As our environment is destroyed, we need a lot more sovereign volunteers and credentialed eco-activists like him,” said Hopman.
• Paul C. Curtis, assistant editor and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com.
