Muriel Flanders, 93, O'ahu philanthropist
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Muriel Macfarlane Flanders, noted O'ahu philanthropist, an heir to the Campbell Estate and recently recognized songwriter, died yesterday morning at her home. She was 93.
Advertiser library photo • June 8, 2001
Flanders was instrumental in establishing and suppporting the James and Abigail Campbell Foundation, which advocates health and education programs on the Leeward Coast. Three years ago, she donated $675,000 to establish an 'Ewa Beach clubhouse for the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai'i. A year before that, she gave $300,000 to 'Iolani Palace for its conversion of the basement of the historic site into a gallery to exhibit the crown jewels and other belongings of Hawai'i's ali'i.
Muriel Macfarlane Flanders made her recording debut as a composer on her 92nd birthday with the release of "The Music of Muriel Flanders."
Other institutions that benefited from her generosity include: Punahou School, La Pietra School, Kapi'olani Medical Center, The Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, Child and Family Service, The Honolulu Symphony, the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Hawai'i Theatre Center.
Flanders' overriding interest was in the beautification and preservation of Hawai'i's natural environment. As a 50-year member of the Outdoor Circle, she supported tree planting and maintenance programs throughout O'ahu.
On her 92nd birthday, Flanders made her recording debut as a composer when Mountain Apple Co. released "The Music of Muriel Flanders."
Jon de Mello, a principal in Mountain Apple Co., the state's best-known recording company, produced the collection, a nostalgic hapa-haole compilation of 15 of Flanders' compositions, recorded for the first time by such diverse artists as the Brothers Cazimero, Na Leo Pilimehana, O'Brian Eselu, Moe Keale, Tony Conjugacion, Robert Cazimero and Teresa Bright.
"She was a grand dame," de Mello said yesterday. "She saw Hawai'i move through a remarkable time period. She felt the magic of old Hawai'i that's gone now, and her passing is like the changing of the guard; she was ali'i."
Flanders was the granddaughter of James and Abigail Campbell, founder of the estate noted for its 'Ewa land holdings. She was also the daughter of entrepreneur and polo player F. Walter Macfarlane Sr. and composer Alice Kamokila Campbell; the niece of prominent royal descendant Abigail Kawananakoa and the sister of Walter J. Macfarlane, the local businessman and legislator for whom the annual Fourth of July canoe racing regatta at Waikiki Beach is named.
She was the widow of Walter E. Flanders Jr., a developer who was a principal in West Beach Development Co., which created the master plan for what has become the Ko Olina Resort. The two were married for 67 years before his death in 1999.
Flanders attended Punahou School, the Dominican Convent in San Rafael, Calif., and the University of California at Berkeley.
She is survived by three daughters, all of Honolulu: Alice Guild, former executive director of the Friends of 'Iolani Palace; Mary Philpotts-McGrath, an interior decorator; and Judith Flanders Staub, who oversees Music Box, a family foundation that encourages young members of the family to get involved in the arts.
She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at the Oahu Cemetery chapel at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Donations in her name will be accepted at: The Friends of 'Iolani Palace, The Outdoor Circle, The Boys & Girls Club of Hawai'i, The Muriel Flanders Fund at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, Child and Family Service and the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Advertiser staff writer Wayne Harada contributed to this report.
Correction: Alice Guild is the former executive director of the Friends of 'Iolani Palace. Information in a previous version of this story was incorrect.
