School honors memory of kupuna Gladys Brandt
| • | Lee Cataluna: Brandt had a personal touch, too |
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
A light rain began to fall high on Kapalama Heights yesterday afternoon as the Kamehameha Schools 'ohana paid tribute to the late Gladys Kamakakuokalani 'Ainoa Brandt.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Nearly 100 people gathered to honor the influential kupuna who fought for Native Hawaiian rights and the education of Hawai'i's children. The service featured the Kamehameha Concert Glee Club and the voices of the children that Brandt worked a lifetime to serve.
The Kamehameha Schools Hawaiian Ensemble performed a hula at the remembrance service.
Brandt died Jan. 15 at age 96.
Perhaps the greatest tribute was made by Michael Chun, headmaster of Kamehameha Schools' Kapalama campus. The 1961 Kamehameha graduate described Brandt as the closest thing he knew to the school's benefactor, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
"I have often tried to create a living image of Pauahi. I've tried to picture Pauahi in someone I know, to give a personal touch to my relationship to the princess. No one fit that mental image
better than Mrs. Brandt did," Chun said. "She was ali'i in the ways that counted: wise and understanding, honest and fair, firm and compassionate, and most of all committed to serving."
• The University of Hawai'i's Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, which is named in her honor, will hold a memorial tribute and celebration of hula beginning at 5 p.m. today. • At 6 p.m., Brandt's remains will be taken to Kawaiaha'o Church, and a vigil, open to the public, will be held until her funeral service tomorrow. Visitation begins at 2 p.m. with services at 6 p.m. Parking for Wednesday's funeral will be available at 550 South St., across from Kamaka Ukulele, and 768 South St. across from Gold's Gym; at the Honolulu Municipal Building after 5 p.m.; the main Judiciary parking lot at Punchbowl and South streets; the Kalanimoku Building at Punchbowl and Beretania; the Kekuanaoa lot at Queen and Punchbowl; and at Blaisdell Center, where shuttle buses will be provided.
Chun said Brandt stood for what she believed was right, whether it was to help break the kapu on the standing hula, or as a co-author of the "Broken Trust" essay in 1997 that led to the removal of the former Bishop Estate's five trustees.
Additional services for Gladys Brandt
"Her fingerprints were very much evident in the powerful words and message of the 'Broken Trust' five," Chun said. "She heard, she understood and she acted, and because she was who she was, people listened. Her fearless spirit was inspiring to us and certainly gave me confidence and assurance that what we were standing for was pono and worthy."
Throughout her life, Brandt paved the way for Hawaiians, particularly young women. She was the first woman public school principal, first woman district superintendent, the first Native Hawaiian principal of Kamehameha School for Girls.
Neil Hannahs, a Kamehameha graduate and director of the trust's Land Assets Division, said Brandt wanted to prove to young Hawaiian women that they could be leaders and not just followers.
"She aspired to be a role model of Hawaiian leadership and set an exemplary example," Hannahs said. "Her indomitable spirit, scholarship, cultural spirit and dedication to service define what should always be the values of Kamehameha Schools."
Most of yesterday's speakers talked about the "kolohe," or rascal Brandt. They called her stern, often hard-headed and very strong-willed.
But all agreed she was that way because she wanted to better the lives of Hawaiians.
"She gave to us all at Kamehameha a sense of pride about being Hawaiian," said Hamilton McCubbin, Kamehameha Schools chancellor and chief executive officer. "She gave to us as individuals so that we could grow. She gave to Hawai'i so that we could be a better place. And to the Hawaiian people, she gave us a sense of well-being."
