ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
NO. 2020 – 10
REMEMBERING AND CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF JENNIFER MAE (JEREMIAH) CASABAR
WHEREAS, Jennifer Mae (Jeremiah) Casabar was born on April 17, 1945, in Honolulu, Hawaii to Dalton Jeremiah and Carmen Carlysle Ku‘ulei (Widdowson) Postrzech just one minute after her identical twin, Dalta Mae “Dee” (Jeremiah) Quan and is the sister of Dalton “Buster” Jeremiah, Jr. who later joined the ‘ohana; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer’s ‘ohana moved from Oʻahu, Hawai‘i to Los Angeles, California at the age of 10; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, California where she and Dee were known as the “Popcorn Twins” from running the popcorn booth at lunchtime and yes, they took advantage of their ‘twin powers’ to fool boyfriends and teachers at times; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer married Rudy Campos of Waimea, Kauaʻi on June 4, 1966, and became parents to Michele Maile (Ae) of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Camille Puanani (Lau) of ʻEwa Beach, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi; and
WHEREAS, after the dissolution of her first marriage on December 29, 1970, Jennifer was blessed to meet and marry Cornelio “Cass” Casabar, Jr. of Kōloa, Kaua‘i on August 18, 1973, and were later sealed in the Los Angeles California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1975; and
WHEREAS, they saw their posterity increase with the addition of more keiki: Damon Kalani of Cedar Hills, Utah; Tanya Leimomi (George) of Queens Creek, Arizona; Matthew Alika Kealaokamakani of Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi; and Daniel Kapono Ikauanokeola of West Hollywood, California; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer was employed at Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region as a Nursing Administration Secretary and enjoyed a rewarding career for over 25 years, all while being involved and devoted to her children, church callings among which included serving in the temple as an ordinance worker and genealogy researcher, and with other sport club affiliations; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer and Cass also enjoyed connecting with other kamaʻāina in their local bowling leagues including “Da Menehunes” at Hollywood Star Lanes in Los Angeles and with other Hawaiian leagues in the California, San Fernando Valley area; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer was an active participant of Hui O Hawaiʻi of San Fernando Valley, that her mother co-founded in the early 1970s and which focused on offering educational scholarships through their annual lūʻau and hoʻolauleʻa; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer and Cass moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah in 2004, and joined the Kauwahi ʻAnaina Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Civic Club and picked up right where she left off with her twin sister; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer served as Secretary, Hope Pelekikena ʻElua, Hope Pelekikena Mua, Pelekikena (having assumed the position upon the relocation of the then standing Pelekikena), and finally as Chair of the Board of Directors of Kauwahi ʻAnaina Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Civic Club; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer served commendably and successfully in several key Kauwahi ʻAnaina Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Civic Club’s committees, two of which were the Scholarship and Fundraising Committees, while admirably fulfilling the efforts to staff the club’s Brigham Young University concession booth at football and basketball games—both of which she obtained her experience at her children’s high school as a member of the booster club; and
WHEREAS, during her membership and tenure, Jennifer attended numerous Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs annual conventions as a delegate, and made it an ‘ohana trip along with her ‘popcorn twin’ and mother; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer and Cass moved to Hawaiʻi in 2009 to live with their daughter Michele Maile and ‘ohana and kept busy by participating in many activities, which included paddling with her cousin’s church group, and continued with her love of crafting and crocheting with her moʻopuna; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer began to care for her beloved Cass when he became ill and subsequently passed away on August 22, 2010, in Ewa Beach, Oʻahu, Hawai’i; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer moved back to Utah in 2013 to live with son Damon Kalani and be close to her twin sister again where they both resumed serving their Hawaiian community and Kauwahi ʻAnaina Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Civic Club together; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, a surgery Jennifer had undergone left her unable to live alone so she then moved to Arizona to be with her daughter Tanya Leimomi to assist in her care; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer then returned to Utah in 2019 and was admitted into an assisted living facility where her illness rapidly declined, and she peacefully passed away on March 31, 2020, in Highland, Utah surrounded by her mother and ‘ohana at her side; and
WHEREAS, Jennifer is survived by her mother, Carmen Carlysle (Widdowson) Postrzech of Las Vegas, Nevada; twin sister Dalta Mae (Jeremiah) Quan of Ogden, Utah; brother, Dalton Jeremiah, Jr. of Raeford, North Carolina; six children, fourteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews, and reached her final resting place with her eternal companion at the Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery in Kane’ohe, Oʻahu, Hawaii on August 20, 2020, just two days after their 47th wedding anniversary.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 61st Annual Convention held online, in the malama of Makali‘i and the rising of ʻOlekūkolu, this 22nd day of November 2020, remembering and celebrating the life of Jennifer Mae (Jeremiah) Casabar; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a moment of silence be held by this delegation in honor of Jennifer Mae (Jeremiah) Casabar, who served with devotion and aloha; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to: Kawai Palmer, Pelekikena, Kauwahi ʻAnaina Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Civic Club; Michele Maile Ae, Daughter; Damon Kalani Casabar, Son; Dalta Mae Quan, Sister; Carmen Carlysle Postrzech, Mother; and Carol Johnson; the Governor of the State of Utah; the Mayor of the City of Pleasant Grove, Utah; 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 subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned herby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Makaliʻi and the rising of ʻOlekūkolu on the 22nd day of November 2020, at the 61st Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs held online.
Hailama V.K.K. Farden, President