Grandma Crowell’s Memorial

Sadly, Dallas’s grandma passed away late in August, so even though our original purpose for travel to Hawaii was for Jordan and Liz’s wedding, the trip served a dual purpose of also getting the family together for a memorial as well. Dallas’s family is from Waimea and has a history at the Waimea United Church of Christ there. The ceremony was very small and personal and very touching.

No one could remember the last time that Dallas’s dad, George, and his brothers, Bob, Mel and Dee, were all together in one place. Even though it was a solemn morning, it was nice to have the family together. Dallas and Caroline took Jose and I around to see the graves of their relatives. I recognized William Olin Crowell, Dallas’s great grandfather, from some stories Dallas told me and from an article that was written up in the Kauai Garden Isle newspaper a few years back.

The graves and memorials in this cemetery go way back and represent a who’s who in Kauai’s history. Many of the markers are in Japanese and I got the impression that there were many Japanese church-goers here in the past, if not the present. The church itself also has a long history spanning all the way back to the first missionaries on the island.

We miss you, grandma. Rest in peace.

Update: Here’s the obituary from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Aug. 8, 2012
Doris F. Crowell, 92, of Waimea, Kauai, a retired public school teacher, died. She was born in Honolulu. She is survived by sons George K., Robert I., Mel and Dee; brother Richard Fukuda; sister Mary Chang; and eight grandchildren. Private services. Online condolences: doriscrowell.com.