Irene Kuʻulei Kawaioli Leong
March 12, 1936 – July 25, 2024
ʻEwa, Oʻahu – Irene Kuʻulei Kawaioli Leong, 88, of ʻEwa Beach, Hawaiʻi, passed away on July 25, 2024. She was born on March 12, 1936, in ʻEwa Hawaiʻi.
She is survived by sons Eugene (Mavis) Leong, Jr., Roy Leo Steven (Melody) Leong; daughers Cynthia Lee (Anthony) Gamboa, Iregene (Roque) Leong-Tabisola; hānai daughter Maile (Douglas) Piatt; 19 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Mililani Mortuary Mauka Chapel. Visitation begins at 9:00 a.m. and service at 10:00 a.m.
Dawn Orian Kapualani Anahu Fernandez
May 30, 1926 – Aug. 18, 2024
Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu – On August 18, Dawn Orian Kapualani Anahu Fernandez passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her ʻohana. She was 98 years old and the last surviving member of Kamehameha Schools Class of 1944. Dawn was born in Honolulu to Hiram Brandon Kekuhinaonalani Anahu and Hazel Jeanette Rhodes of Rochester, NY. After graduating from Kamehameha Schools she married her classmate and high school sweetheart, Earl Francis Fernandez, and they soon became parents to three daughters and a son. Dawn retired from Dillingham Construction and was an excellent and avid golfer – a favorite pastime for her and Earl. Sophisticated and elegant, her grandchildren and their children fondly called her “Grandmama.” In her later years, when back problems kept her from golfing, she became fascinated with researching her ʻohana genealogy, compiling meticulous and detailed records. She was preceded in death by her husband, Earl, in 1976, and by her son, Brandon Palani Fernandez in 1996. She is survived by daughters Erleen Fontanilla, Bonnie (Tom) Ryder and Moana (Sherman) Brown; grandchildren Manulani Fontanilla (Eric) Hueu, Scott Fontanilla, Billy (Wailani) Fontanilla, Tammie Fontanilla (Charles) Hibdon, Keoni (Maile) Fontanilla, Palani (Tina) Ryder, Aulani Ryder (Scott) Kaui, Michael (Wendy) Ryder, Rob (April) Aiwohi and Cheryl Moana (Cliff Seno) Aiwohi; 34 great-grandchildren; 52 great-great-grandchildren; one great-great-great grandchild born in 2023; and hānai sons Chet Gritzmacher, Bruce Scottow and John Valance.
