honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, January 24, 2002

Maui service set Sunday for Pavao

Advertiser Staff

Services will be held Sunday on Maui for Hawaiian entertainer Dennis Pavao, 50, who died Friday at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Hilo services are planned for a later date.

Pavao, a Hawaiian falsetto virtuoso and Na Hoku Hanohano winner, had been suffering dizzy spells and collapsed earlier in the month during a performance at Lahaina's Feast at Lele.

Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Ballard Family Mortuary in Kahului, with a eulogy at 4 p.m. and the service at 6 p.m.

Burial will be on the Big Island, but details have not been announced. Borthwick Hawai'i Funeral Home is handling arrangements there.

Pavao was born July 11, 1951, in Kalapana on the Big Island.

In the early 1970s, he joined his cousins Ledward and Nedward Ka'apana to form Hui 'Ohana.

The group later broke up, but Pavao went on to win further acclaim in a solo career that produced six albums.

His 1989 "Hawaiian Soul" was named Na Hoku Hanohano traditional Hawaiian album of the year; in 1987, he was named top male vocalist for "Na Leo Ki'eki'e." His anthology album, "Na Mele Henoheno," received a Na Hoku Hanohano award in 1993.

Along with his professional appearances, Pavao shared his talents at fund-raisers for groups ranging from canoe clubs and Pop Warner football to Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Punana Leo Hawaiian immersion preschool.

He is survived by his wife, S. Leialoha Spencer-Pavao; sons, Kaleomana Pavao of Lahaina, Dennis Stohls of O'ahu and Kekoa Mahiai Wade Parker of Hilo; daughters, Misty W., Amberleigh, Sarahlei, Tehani and Annalisha, all of Lahaina; parents, Mildred Kuulei Konanui and Edwin Pavao Sr. of Hilo; brothers, Edwin Jr. and Morris, both of Hilo, and Russell of Kona; and sisters, Ritamae Pavao of Honolulu, Leola Pavao and Brenda Domingo, both of Hilo, and Mokihana Pavao of Kona.