Fred M. Hemmings Sr., father of state Sen. Fred Hemmings Jr., died Jan. 20 in Honolulu. He was 85.
Hemmings was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sept. 30, 1915. He moved to Hawai‘i at age 7 when his father, who was in the Navy, was transferred here.
Hemmings graduated from Roosevelt High School and attended the University of Hawai‘i. He joined the Honolulu Police Department and worked as a detective until World War II broke out.
Hemmings enlisted in the Air Force and was sent to Santa Ana, Calif., for officer’s training school. He was later assigned as a navigator to the commanding general at Hickam Field.
After the war Hemmings joined the Air Force Reserves as a colonel and also went to work for the state government. He was manager of the Hilo and Kaua‘i airports and later assistant manager at Honolulu Airport when he retired.
He was a member of the Outrigger Canoe Club for 75 years.
He is survived by sons Mark, Fred Jr. and Aka; daughters Cynthia Leonard, Maria Hemmings and Heidi Hemmings-Hall; 10 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Star of the Sea Church; burial will be at Diamond Head Memorial Park.
Donations may be made to the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation.
