Jack Wyatt services set for Friday and July 13

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

A morning prayer thanking God for his life is written in pencil on the last page of a notebook. Across it in red is the notation, "Thank you, thank you, Lord Jesus."

The prayer is dated June 18, the day its author was killed.

Jack Wyatt, 71, a free-lance writer best known for his coverage of water and running sports for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, was pushed into the Ala Wai Canal. His head struck on rocks and he drowned.

Cline Kahue has been charged with murder in Wyatt's death.

Friends and family will remember Wyatt with services Friday and July 13.

The 5 p.m. Friday service will be at Unity Church of Hawai'i, 1608 Diamond Head Circle. A potluck is planned and friends will remember Wyatt, said Connie Comiso-Fanelli, Wyatt's longtime running friend.

A short service and scattering of ashes is planned for July 13 on the beach near the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Rainbow Tower and lagoon. The service will begin at 8 a.m. "It'll be very informal, just like Jack," said Olga Caldwell, one of the organizers. While the ashes are being scattered, a short run-walk will be held in Wyatt's memory.

A remembrance service will follow, Caldwell said.

Wyatt's daughters, Christine Wyatt of Juneau, Alaska, and Cheryl Ferreira, Jackie Greene and Jonnel Wyatt of Maui; a brother, Gordon, of California; and sister, Virginia Godbey of Oregon, will attend the July 13 service.

"Our dad loved Hawai'i and its people," his daughters said recently in a written statement. "He loved his family, his lifestyle and God. He was blessed with contentment later in life and we know he was happy. Thank you for sharing his life with us."

Correction: The July 13 service for Jack Wyatt on the beach near the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Rainbow Tower and lagoon will begin at 8 a.m. A previous version of this story did not have complete information.