1958-2003
Michael Stennis, former UH QB

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

STENNIS

"This university was fortunate to have him come through the school," said K5 sportscaster Artie Wilson, a close friend for more than 25 years. "It's a very sad day. Not only has his family lost a father and a husband and a son, but we've lost a good friend and the world has lost a good man."

UH defensive coordinator George Lumpkin, who recruited Stennis, recalled: "He was a great athlete, a great artist and he had a great business mind. I used to wonder how one person could have so much going for him."

Stennis, who attended UH from 1976 through 1980, was the first African American to start at quarterback for UH.

"We came in together as freshmen," said Blane Gaison, who is athletic director at Kamehameha Schools. "We both came in as quarterbacks. We went at it head to toe. We were both competitive, yet we were roommates and good friends, if not best friends."

Gaison eventually moved to defensive back and, for the 1980 season, Gaison and Stennis were named co-captains.

"We started off as competitors, but ended up finishing together," Gaison said. "We walked out loving one another."

After receiving a degree from UH, Stennis returned to Los Angeles to help run his family's chain of restaurants throughout California.

For eight years, Stennis served as a trustee for the California state university system. A few years ago, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Cal State-Monterey Bay.

He sponsored several inner-city youth programs in Los Angeles.

Stennis and his business partner, basketball great Magic Johnson, were prepared to open Fat Burger restaurants in Honolulu when Stennis was diagnosed with stage-4 colon cancer in November 2001.

"They gave him a couple of months," Erin Stennis said of her husband's prognosis.

Stennis and his wife formed the Stennis Family Foundation, a not-for-profit organization designed to educate the minority community about colon cancer. Erin Stennis said the foundation has paid for colonoscopy procedures for patients without medical insurance.

Despite two surgeries and several rounds of chemotherapy, "he got up, like a Warrior," Erin said. "He would get up every day and swim and exercise on the bike and run. He kept his body in shape. He started to read voraciously. He consumed so many books to try to keep his focus. He just read, read, read. It was his way to deal with the pain."

At the end, she said, "he was tired. He fought. He was the hero."

Stennis also is survived by children Michael Jr., Pilar and Todd Marabella. His nephew, Sean Stennis, is a UH wide receiver.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Stennis Family Foundation. Call (323) 935-6032 for information.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.