ROD OHIRA'S PEOPLE
Memories — a friend's lasting gift
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
Twenty-one-year-old Chad Tanabe died last Aug. 17, six days after crashing his motorcycle on a zig-zag section of Auloa Road to Maunawili called "13 turns." Although his son never regained consciousness, Philip Tanabe learned a lot about him during those final days at The Queen's Medical Center.
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"Hundreds of his friends were coming every day to the hospital," said Tanabe, a Palolo Valley resident. "Before the accident, I didn't know how many friends and what kind of friends Chad had. But when I saw the kind of people they were, it told me a lot about him.
Kerianne Tsukiyama, friend of Chad Tanabe, lays flowers and lei on his grave at Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery as Lance Kawada looks on. Tanabe, a Kalani High graduate, was killed in a motorcycle accident last August.
"As a parent, you realize how much you didn't know about your child until something like this happens."
Seven of his friends remember the Kalani High graduate, songwriter/musician and Ruth's Chris Steak House food server, as the "life of the party" and "a free spirit."
Since the funeral, the seven of them — Kerianne Tsukiyama, 20; Bucky Inenaga, 21; Skye-Lee Tavares, 21; Lance Kawada, 22; Dino Kawamura, 22; Brian Haruno, 20, and Lee Kurihara, 21 — have twice visited their friend's gravesite at Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery as a group, most recently on his birthday Feb. 27. Stickers ordered by Haruno, and a compact disc of nine songs composed and performed by Tanabe, were distributed to his friends and relatives as a way to remember him.
"Even in death, he's still bringing people together," Tavares said.
Many others are remembering a relative or friend on this Memorial Day with flowers and a visit to the cemetery.
"In Hawai'i, Memorial Day weekend is a time when we remember not only a mother, father, friend or the military but all who have passed," said Sharmaine Marumoto, general manager of Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. "It's one of our heaviest (visiting) days."
Chad Tanabe's relatives and friends miss him.
The time for grieving has passed, but it's still hard for some of them to hold back tears when they think of him or the good times they shared. Memories of Tanabe will eventually lead them to laughter.
"Oh, he was so naughty," Jennie Tanabe told her grandson's friends. "I used to scold him a lot for smoking and drinking and making noise (playing music) at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning.
"He used to love his Spam and eggs," she said. "The Spam had to be nicely burned and the smoke alarm would always go off when he cooked."
Kurihara met Tanabe when they were freshmen playing with the Kalani band. They had contrasting personalities but got along.
"It was weird," Kurihara said. "Chad was a free spirit but his friends were all brains. He got me to loosen up and enjoy life. He brought so much to the table and the testament of how good a person he was was all those people who came to the hospital every night."
Tanabe loved alternative music and could play drums, guitar and saxophone. But he was most at ease jamming on the 'ukulele with Kawamura and Haruno at his mother's house in Mililani. "He'd call me whenever he wrote a new song and play it on the 'ukulele for me," Tavares said.
Tavares remembers Tanabe in her tribute poem titled "Eternal Friend":
The memories we've made shall endure eternity
For that's how special you are,
The friends you have made shall last forever
No matter the distance from us you are.
A wonderful friend in you
Is exactly what everyone found
For you were always there to listen,
You were the one who was always around.
Though you're off in a better place
You are still within my heart
For there's so much of you I shall retain
I know we'll never be apart.
Your smile, your face, your voice, your humor
Are a few things I could never forget,
Your passion, your warmth, your caring nature
Are things about you I shall never forget.
My dear best friend is who you'll always be
Never can anyone take your place;
And though your spirit has been forever set free
A part of you shall always remain with me.
Memories of those who made a difference in our lives are in the thoughts of many today. If not now, then pause for a moment to let it happen.
NOTE: A sticker on the rear window of a van Philip Tanabe sometimes drives reads, "In loving memory of Chad Tanabe." We learned of this story about lasting friendships after one of our readers, noticing the van's sticker recently in Kaimuki, asked us to find out who Chad Tanabe was.
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
