Posted on: Friday, December 27, 2002

Gregory G. Helm Sr., 59, 'cared about all people'

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Gregory G. Helm Sr., a community leader on Moloka'i and former project director with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, died Sunday in Kaunakakai, Moloka'i. He was 59.

Helm was the brother of entertainer Larry Helm and the late Hawaiian activist George Helm, who disappeared at sea while paddling to Kaho'olawe. George Helm was one of two men who died in 1977 while protesting the military's use of the island.

Gregory Helm did not get involved in the same activities as his younger brother, but he still was an activist in many ways, Larry Helm said. Gregory's passion was to help people, particularly Native Hawaiians, on Moloka'i.

"He was one that would serve his fellow brothers and sisters before himself," Larry Helm said. "He was a person who cared about all people."

Gregory Helm spent most of his life on Moloka'i. He belonged to the Jaycees, Chamber of Commerce, Moloka'i High School alumni association, and was a member of the Moloka'i Catholic Church.

He also was a driving force in establishing Kulana 'Oiwi, the state's first multiservice center serving Hawaiians.

Larry Helm joked that his brother, who was a member of the National Guard during the Vietnam era, was one of the only Republicans on the island and "wouldn't waffle from the law." In a family of liberal activists, Gregory Helm didn't always fit in, particularly with the activities of younger brother George.

"(Gregory) didn't think that was too cool back then, but he was trying to be supportive and trying to understand," Larry Helm said. "We might not agree politically, but he was supportive. At the end of the story he really saw the fruits of what George was about."

Gregory Helm would later be involved in the reforestation of Kaho'olawe, a former military target island.

Larry Helm borrowed a quote from Mother Theresa to best describe his brother:

"The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action."

Gregory Helm is survived by his wife, Roberta "Cookie"; sons, Gregory Jr. and Malcolm; daughters, Yvette Noelani and Kimberly; brothers, Larry, Adolph, Zack and Bill; sisters, Stacy Crivello and Georgia; and four grandchildren.

Visitation from 9 a.m. tomorrow at St. Sophia Catholic Church in Kaunakakai; Mass at 11:30 a.m. Burial to follow at the Kanakaloloa Cemetery in Ho'olehua.