'Pinky' Thompson service set for Thursday
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
A funeral for Myron "Pinky" Thompson, regarded as a champion for Native Hawaiians, will be held Thursday at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Memorial Chapel on the Kapalama Campus of The Kamehameha Schools.
Advertiser library photo
Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the service to begin at 5:30 p.m.
Myron "Pinky" Thompson was a Native Hawaiian champion.
Thompson's ashes will be scattered Saturday in Maunalua Bay. Those who wish to celebrate Thompson's life are invited to gather at the Hui Nalu Canoe Club paddling site at the Hawai'i Kai boat ramp at 7 a.m.
Thompson, a former Bishop Estate trustee who committed more than 30 years to fighting for the betterment of Native Hawaiians, died Christmas Day after a battle with cancer.
He was 77.
In lieu of flowers, Thompson's family asks that donations be made in his memory to: the Myron and Laura Thompson Scholarship Endowment at the Kamehameha Schools Ke Ali'i Pauahi Foundation; the Polynesian Voyaging Society; or a charity of the donor's choice.
Under Thompson's direction, Kamehameha Schools established early education and family education programs.
He also initiated Kamehameha's outreach programs with the state Department of Education and the community.
Thompson, a World War II veteran, helped create the Hawaiian Health Care System and stepped forward in the late 1970s to revitalize the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
He also helped create Alu Like to get federal money to help Native Hawaiians in job training, health, housing, education and native rights.
Thompson was the executive director of the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center in the 1960s. He also served as state administrator for Gov. John A. Burns, director of the state Department of Social Services and Housing, and as the first chairman of the state Land Use Commission. He was also director of the Salvation Army Child Welfare Services.
