Elizabeth Topolinski, musician, dead at 83
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
Elizabeth "Sister" Leihala Renken Topolinski, mother of kumu hula John Renken Kaha'i Topolinski, died Sept. 14 in Honolulu. She was 83.
A descendant of Hawaiian chiefs, she will be buried Saturday amid rarely seen traditional rituals and regalia.
Topolinski was born in Honolulu and in the late 1930s and early 1940s was a musician who, with her sisters, formed a singing trio that performed at the Princess, Hawaii and Liberty theaters. Her father, Ernest Renken, was a tenor with Charles E. King's touring opera company and a musician with Johnny Noble's Moana Hotel Orchestra.
But the focus of her life was the raising of her family, her son said.
"Mother was basically the pulse of the entire family," Kaha'i Topolinski said. "Her main thing in life was to educate her children, and make them aware of who they are, both their Hawaiian and their haole side.
"She taught us to be proud of who you are, but don't be arrogant. The family was the source that nourished all of us."
The Renken family descended from Hakaulalapuakea, an ancestor of Kamehameha the Great, and from Chief Nu'uanu and Chiefess Hulihei on O'ahu, he said.
At her funeral service, Topolinski's halau will chant in receiving her remains, and serve as bearers of the kahili and pulo'ulo'u, respectively the standards of the ali'i and kahuna classes of ancient Hawai'i.
Following the service, her genealogy will be chanted as her casket is taken to the grave, draped in traditional feather capes, he added; the capes will be removed as the casket is interred.
She is survived by her husband, John; daughter Velma Ululani Topolinski-Vegas; son John Renken Kaha'i Topolinski, six grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren and a step-great-great-grandson.
Visitation is from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday at O'ahu Cemetery Chapel, with a service at 11 a.m. Burial at the cemetery will be at noon, with luncheon to follow. Aloha attire; flowers and lei are welcome. Arrangements by Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary.
