Member of famed Maui volleyball family dies
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
PA'IA, Maui — Maui's first family of volleyball suffered another devastating loss during the weekend.
Advertiser library photo
The Quinsaats of Pa'ia, three generations of whom have been involved in the sport, are mourning the loss of Mayming Iris Quinsaat, 45, who died Saturday after a brain aneurysm.
Iris Quinsaat died after two weeks in a coma following surgery.
Two and a half years ago, Iris' brother, Paul Quinsaat, died unexpectedly of heart failure. He was 38.
"It's so hard to see your two children go like that," said their mother, Pauline Quinsaat.
Iris, who worked at the county Department of Parks and Recreation, had just earned her bachelor's degree in business administration in May from the University of Hawai'i, through Maui Community College. She also was looking forward to the September birth of her third grandchild.
She was at the sand courts at Kanaha Beach Park in Kahului on July 6 with family members when she was overcome by a piercing headache and immediately underwent surgery at Maui Memorial Medical Center. She died Saturday after two weeks in a coma.
Pauline Quinsaat, 65, said she is relying on her faith as a Jehovah's Witness to once again help her survive personal tragedy. Despite her grief, she said the untimely deaths of two of her seven children have not darkened her outlook.
"Life is wonderful. Always be thankful, I always say," said Quinsaat, a woman of quiet determination who once chained herself to a milo tree in Pa'ia town to save it from being cut down.
The Quinsaats for years were at the center of Maui's volleyball scene, running pick-up games and tournaments at the old Pa'ia Gym, just up the road from the sugar mill, and also taking their game to the beach.
Along with in-laws and extended family, they ran the Maui Brothers men's volleyball club, which until the mid-1990s organized a popular summer tournament that attracted top teams from around the state.
Pauline coached at Maui High and St. Anthony High School and was involved in club teams as her children and grandchildren grew up. She started the Na 'Opio O Maui youth volleyball club but retired from the sport five years ago.
She said she always had one coaching tip that held throughout the years: "If you want to be a volleyball player, you have to play from here," she said, placing her hands over her heart.
Son Paul Quinsaat was one of the island's top male players, and Iris was a regular on the court as well. Iris' son, Cory, was a standout volleyball player at Maui High School.
Iris' sister, Norinne Suzuki, coaches girls volleyball at the Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus. UH Wahine volleyball star Nalani Yamashita is one of Norinne's daughters. Another daughter, Tania, played for the University of California Santa Barbara, while a third, Twaila, played at Hawai'i Pacific University.
Another of Iris' brothers, Darren Quinsaat, was a player and former high school coach, and another sister, Dreanne Quinsaat, was one of Maui's top female players.
Aside from the family's volleyball interests, the Quinsaats long have been a fixture in the former plantation town of Pa'ia. They own several properties in town, including the building that once housed Auggie's Pool Hall, run by Pauline's husband, Augustin. The pool hall closed several years ago, and the family now runs Aloha Island Shave Ice there.
Visitation for Iris Quinsaat will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Ballard Family Mortuary, with a service at noon. Cremation will follow.
The family suggests that flowers be limited to lei only.
Iris Quinsaat additionally is survived by sisters Sandra Lynn Quinsaat and Charlynne Ramolete, her grandfather, John K. Travis, and fiancé Michael Anderson.
