Ex-prison chief faced up to adversity
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Antone S. Olim, who worked his way up from prison guard to head of the Hawai'i State Prison during the turbulent 1970s, died Aug. 30 in Honolulu. He was 85.
Olim was born in 'Ewa on Jan. 3, 1917. In 1941, he started as a guard at the old O'ahu Prison, where he witnessed three executions, including the last one in Hawai'i in 1944.
Antone Olim was named superintendent of the state prison in 1969.
Olim worked his way up through the prison ranks and in 1969 he was named superintendent of the state prison, now known as O'ahu Community Correctional Center. He held that position until his retirement in 1981.
His tenure as head of the prison has been described as the stormiest period in the prison's history. An overcrowding problem led to escapes, riots, murders, guard intimidation and many standoffs.
In 1974, the problem came to a head when the Hawai'i National Guard was ordered to search the prison for contraband. In 1975, the state's corrections chief was forced to resign and guards were transferred.
Olim was blamed for many of the problems at the prison, but he survived the shakeups.
The Department of Social Services and Housing oversaw the prison system at that time, and former spokeswoman Beadie Dawson said Olim faced all of the problems head-on.
"He always knew exactly what to do, where to go. He had a very clear idea of his job, of the job of everybody around him," said Dawson. "Under his leadership, while the prison had many of the problems that prisons have, he ran a very tight ship. Tony met every one of those adversities with a straight face. "
Olim is survived by sons, Anthony and Patrick; sister, Augusta Texeira; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursday at Star of the Sea Church; Mass 12:30 p.m. Burial at 2 p.m. at Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery.
