ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2018 – 7
HONORING THE LIFE OF JAMES “UNCLE JIMMY” KIMOKEO, JR. OF POʻIPŪ, KAUAʻI, HAWAIʻI
WHEREAS, James “Uncle Jimmy” Kimokeo, Jr. was born at home in Poʻipū, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi on January 17, 1925; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy was the second oldest of nine children of James Kimokeo and Mary Costa; and
WHEREAS, growing up on Kauaʻi meant fishing, diving, and canoeing because Uncle Jimmy was forever comfortable on, in, and under the water; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy attended Kauaʻi High School until the outbreak of World War II when he joined the United States Navy in the fall of 1942; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy served in the Pacific Theater and was honorably discharged as Boatswains Mate Second Class three years later; and
WHEREAS, after serving in the Navy, Uncle Jimmy worked in numerous jobs, commercial fishing with his father, as well as with private contractors cutting monkey pod and road construction; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy married Ida Napua Kua of Kauaʻi; and
WHEREAS, in 1953, Uncle Jimmy and Aunty Ida welcomed their son James Oliver Kimokeo; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy also worked as a temporary Deck Hand with the United States Army Corp of Engineers on the seagoing hopper dredge, the Davidson, a job that changed his world; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy, Aunty Ida, son Kimo, and hānai daughter, Ululani Kealoha, moved to Portland, Oregon for work where Captain Robert Kern, the captain that hired Uncle Jimmy recognized his intelligence, drive, initiative, and ease at being at sea and began mentoring him; and
WHEREAS, Captain Kern nominated Uncle Jimmy for officer’s nautical school in Seattle, Washington, and his drive and commitment took him from deckhand to 3rd Mate and then on up the chain of command to Captain, acquiring his Masters License in 1978; and
WHEREAS, after his retirement from federal service he commanded private dredging operations on the Gulf Ccoast based out of Louisiana and in the early 1990’s his passion for being on the water continued as he fished for salmon on local rivers and off the Oregon coast; and
WHEREAS, his passion for the sea continued, and at the age of 71 Uncle Jimmy crewed aboard the Hōkūleʻa on a west coast tour, sailing from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, California; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy and Aunty Ida moved back to Hawaiʻi and built their own home on Hawaiian home lands on Kauaʻi; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy’s wife, Aunty Ida passed away in 2000, however Uncle Jimmy stayed active in Kauaʻi volunteering at the Kauaʻi Museum and active in the community as a member of the Queen Deborah Kapule Hawaiian Civic Club, the American Legion, and helping care for and maintain some of the local heiau and attending one of the local Hawaiian churches; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, he moved to California to be close to his son, Kimo; and
WHEREAS, in the early hours of July 7, 2018, at the age of 94 years old, Uncle Jimmy passed away peacefully surrounded by family in Davis, California; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Jimmy is survived by his son, James “Kimo” Kimokeo and his wife, Deborah of Davis, California, his hānai daughter, Ululani Kealoha Hoʻokano of Līhuʻe Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, his remaining sisters, Priscilla Kimokeo Kua of Honolulu, ʻEwa Beach, Hawaiʻi, Ella Kimokeo of Hanapēpē, Hawaiʻi and many many nieces and nephews; and
WHEREAS, his celebration of life was held at Borthwick Mortuary in Kōloa, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, and he was buried at the Kauaʻi Veterans Cemetary in Hanapēpē, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi on July 27, 2018.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 59th Annual Convention in Kalapaki, Kauaʻi, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ʻOlepau, this 17th day of November 2018, honoring the life of James “Uncle Jimmy” Kimokeo, Jr of Poʻipū, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to James Kimokeo, Ululani Kealoha Hoʻokano, Priscilla Kua, Ella Kua, Queen Deborah Kapule Hawaiian Civic Club, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ‘Olepau on the 17th day of November 2018, at the 59th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Kalapaki, Kaua‘i.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
