When Herb Cornuelle died in 1996, his long list of business accomplishments took second seat to a litany of heartfelt testimonies about his character, compassion, humility and
generosity.
As Honolulu Advertiser Editor at Large George Chaplin remarked at the time: "For a good many years, he was Hawai'i's No. 1 citizen ... a very private man who's made great public contributions."
Cornuelle, the son of a Presbyterian minister, was born in Cincinnati in 1920 and raised in Hartford City, Ind. When his father died in World War II, Cornuelle took responsibility for his two younger brothers and worked as a janitor to support the family.
He earned a degree at Occidental College in California, then was commissioned to the Navy, arriving in Hawai'i for the first time in 1942.
After helping to found the Foundation for Economic Education in New York and heading the William Volker Fund, Cornuelle returned to Hawai'i in 1953 as vice president of Hawaiian Pine (later the Dole Co.). Five years later, at age 38, he was elevated to president of the company.
Cornuelle served a six-year stint in Boston as head of United Fruit Co., then returned to Hawai'i for good in 1969 as the first non-family head of Dillingham Corp. He later served as a trustee for the Campbell Estate.
According to a popular story, Cornuelle helped set the tone of his leadership at Dillingham during a business flight to the Mainland. With other executives seated in first class, the 6-foot-4 Cornuelle made his way to the coach section to find a seat.
Ever civic-minded, Cornuelle served on the Judicial Selection Commission, the Committee on Penal Code Revision and Reform, and the blue-ribbon panel investigating state judiciary problems in the 1980s. He also founded the Hawaii Business Roundtable and served on the boards of Aloha United Way; The Nature Conservancy; the Aloha Council, Boy Scouts of America; and many other organizations.
