By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Staff Writer
Mary Judd in Manoa Valley has discovered how to feels to play fairy godmother for her friends. She calls them and says, "You’ve got money coming."
Ironically, it’s their money. You’d be surprised how many important people in Our Honolulu have cash lying around.
Judd found out about this because she’s taking care of her 102-year-old mother. "I don’t have much to do, and I don’t care for crossword puzzles," she said. "I started reading the Notices of Abandoned Properties for fun."
They’re in small print and cover 15 newspaper pages with dull, gray type. They appeared on Feb. 28 in Midweek and you can ask for them in the public library.
The first name that popped out to Judd was that of a friend, Mrs. Alan Stack. "Her husband was an Olympic gold medal winner in swimming, and she’s the daughter of Loy and Lester Marks," said Judd.
Though not in financial straits, her friend was delighted to hear that she’s got money coming.
So far, Judd has found 55 friends who are richer than they thought. Not one of them has complained about her invasion of their privacy.
"At first, I wasn’t sure I should call them," she said. "But everybody was so happy that I kept doing it."
The money has languished in bank accounts, certificates of deposit, negotiable instruments, gift certificates, credit balances and insurance policy refunds for at least five years.
If it isn’t claimed by April 20, the state gets it.
The state has the option of claiming property it advertises as unclaimed, but does not enforce deadlines.
As Judd recalls, Dr. Kristine Jabrowsky had $571 coming. Mabel Kekahuna at Kalaupapa, Moloka‘i has an HMSA check waiting. Richard Mamiya, the heart surgeon, has money due. "I haven’t called him yet," said Judd.
Oddly enough, companies you’d think are good at bookkeeping have loose change lying around. They include Finance Factors, First Hawaiian Bank, First Federal Savings & Loan and Liberty Bank.
Liberty House and GTE Hawaiian Tel also have money coming. Call 586-1589.
Judd said she called former Bishop Estate trustee Ozzie Stender with the good news. She decided to let the city director of finance and the Ho-nolulu Police Department fend for themselves.
The pages are sprinkled with the names of charities, and class and family reunions like Pacific Wheel Chair Tennis, the Cooke Sesquicentennial, the Leilehua High School Class of 1982 and the Rotary Foundation Alumnae.
Judd admitted that she’s bashful about calling cele-brities, so I volunteered to let Tom Moffatt, Al Harrington and Brickwood Galuteria know that they’ve got more money than they think.
Then there’s the Hawaii Medical Softball League, Virginia Koch of the Daughters of Hawai‘i, and Jim Romig, owner of Hilo Hattie’s.
Unfortunately, my name isn’t on the list. Neither is Judd’s. "Nobody has offered to buy me an ice-cream cone," she noted, but playing fairy godmother has been a lot of fun.
Correction: The state has the option of claiming property it advertises as unclaimed, but does not enforce deadlines. A previous version of this column did not explain that the state does not exercise its option.
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