Posted on: Friday, October 11, 2002

Teddy led a good life in the park

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Teddy Porter loved Ala Moana Beach Park. It was where he found peace.

He lived in the park for close to nine years. His family tried to get him to move off the beach, to settle in to a house, but he would tell his mother and his sister that he loved his life, loved being outdoors. His sister thinks perhaps it reminded Teddy of his childhood, growing up on Moloka'i and camping out with his family. In any case, it was where he was happiest.

Teddy thought of his life in the park as both a privilege and a responsibility. He volunteered for "Adopt a Park," raking leaves, picking up rubbish, pulling weeds. He took care of an area on the diamondhead side near the canoe halau and was something of a security guard, watching the canoes overnight and making sure there were no thieves or vandals. At 6 feet 2, 385 pounds, his size alone made troublemakers think twice.

Members of the Koa Kai canoe club came to think of Teddy as one of their own. He watched over their stuff and lent an extra set of hands. They gave him club T-shirts and invited him to every potluck. Koa Kai president Ron Ogino says: "It came to a point where we would come back from a race and he would ask us, "Hey, Coach, how did WE do?'"

Teddy also took care of the people who lived in the park. To him, they were frightened, and he was not. His sister, Luana Yamamoto, said: "He protected them in the park, he looked after them, he fed them. When they were newly homeless and first came to the park, they were scared and he could see that."

On Sept. 29, members of the canoe club saw Teddy sitting motionless in the park. They tried in vain to revive him. Teddy was later pronounced dead of a massive heart attack at Straub hospital. But his sister believes he died in the park, right in his favorite place. He was 51.

Days after his passing, Teddy's sister went to the park to gather up his few things. "In the short time I was there," says Yamamoto, "so many people came up to me and said how Teddy had helped them out."

Today at 4 p.m., friends and family will gather at Teddy's favorite place for a memorial service. Koa Kai will send out all their canoes and an escort boat to scatter Teddy's ashes at sea.

"One guy at the park told me, no, Teddy wants to be scattered right here by the shore," says Yamamoto. "And I said, by law, you have to go out to sea. So he goes, 'But that was Teddy's wish!' I said, 'You know what? The water goes out, the water comes in ... so if Teddy wants to come in, he'll come in."

The members of Koa Kai are talking about some sort of memorial to Teddy, maybe a plaque near the canoes, perhaps even naming a new canoe after him someday.

Says Ogino, "We loved him. We were always grateful to him."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.