Waikiki remembers beachboy 'Cowboy' Rosa
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
WAIKIKI — It was only 6 a.m., the sun just peeking over Diamond Head, and dozens of people milled around the concession stand at Kuhio Beach.
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And it wasn't just the usual early-morning crowd.
Jenny Rosa said yesterday that her late husband "loved to teach surfing" and had "a heart of gold." A large crowd turned out for the memorial service for Frederick "Cowboy" Rosa at Kuhio Beach, including more than 300 surfers who paddled out for the scattering of ashes.
They carried bags of lei, digital cameras and cups of coffee. Most of them had something else in tow — their surfboards.
Hundreds of surfers and spectators gathered at Kuhio Beach yesterday morning for the memorial service of Frederick "Cowboy" Rosa, a beloved Waikiki beachboy who died May 16 at 66.
Dozens of longboards lined the rock wall fronting the concession stand, where Rosa spent the last 40 years of his life, telling jokes and talking story.
He was more than just a regular at the beach. Rosa was an old-school beachboy, conducting surf lessons every day, rain or shine.
"He loved to teach surfing," said his widow and former student, Jenny Rosa, 56. "He had a heart of gold."
It was that heart that gave out two weeks ago. After three months of fighting, Cowboy Rosa quietly passed away, his wife holding his hands.
"He fought to stay alive," Jenny Rosa said.
He had a lot to live for, as indicated by the turnout yesterday. People he grew up with, people he taught, people he had just met in January — everyone whose lives he had touched came to pay their respects to the man they affectionately called the "Mayor of Waikiki."
"He told me, 'Get ready 'cause plenty people coming to my funeral,'" Jenny Rosa said with a laugh. "He has touched so many lives."
Longtime friend and fellow beachboy Herb Cuban remembered meeting Cowboy Rosa in 1949 as ninth-graders at Kaimuki Intermediate School.
Even though he was a jokester, the one thing he never joked about was how much he loved surfing, Cuban said.
"He told me he wasn't going to school anymore; he was just going to surf," said Cuban, 67, retired sergeant with the Honolulu Police Department. "And he did."
Cowboy Rosa dropped out of high school and earned a living as a tilesetter. The two met up again at Kuhio Beach in the '60s, bound by their passion for surfing.
"He would tell the same jokes, and we would laugh," Cuban said. "He would tell the same stories, and we would listen. ... The beach is just not the same without him."
Rick Adams flew from Atascadero, Calif., to attend the service. The 58-year-old met Cowboy Rosa in 1983 at the beach.
"This is the end of an era," said Adams, who shaped longboards for Cowboy Rosa for 10 years. "No one can replace him."
The service began at about 8 a.m. with prayers by pastors Harold Holly and Dennis Sallas, who called this day a celebration.
"Today is not about death," Sallas said. "Today is about life. ... They'll be teaching surfing in the heavens today."
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More than 300 surfers grabbed their longboards and paddled out beyond the surf break called Canoes where Cowboy taught his lessons every day. His niece, Geodee Clark, paddled out on a new 10-foot-2 magenta longboard he never got to use.
Family and friends set out in canoes off Kuhio Beach to scatter the ashes of Frederick "Cowboy" Rosa, who died at age 66. The Waikiki beachboy taught surfing at a concession on the beach for 40 years.
Six canoes and three catamarans carried family members out to the spot where they would scatter his ashes. It was the same place Cowboy Rosa scattered the ashes of his son, Kui, who died Oct. 28, 2003, of diabetes. He was just 31.
"That just broke his heart," Jenny Rosa said.
The waters were calm, the tradewinds light. As Jenny Rosa emptied her husband's ashes into the ocean he loved so much, surfers straddling their boards tossed loose flowers and lei into the water. A helicopter flew by and released thousands of rose petals over the paddlers and surfers, who cheered and flung water into the air.
A light rain started to fall, a sign of good luck.
The surfers turned their boards around and paddled for Canoes, everyone determined to catch a wave in honor of Cowboy Rosa.
It was the kind of service he would've wanted, said his brother Wela — complete with live Hawaiian music and tables full of food.
"He like everybody be happy," said Wela, 68, who flew in from Anchorage, Alaska. "He was very happy-go-lucky, very funny and very friendly to anybody. ... This is what he would want."
Jeffrey Lou met Cowboy Rosa for the first time last September. The 11-year-old came for a vacation with his family from Seattle and wanted to learn to surf.
After lessons with Jenny Rosa and advice from Cowboy Rosa, Jeffrey surfs whenever he comes to town. Which is more often now.
"He laughed a lot," said Jeffrey, who attended the service with his mom, Lael. "He was really funny."
Some say Waikiki will never be the same. Others believe his spirit will always be there.
But everyone agreed that Cowboy Rosa left an indelible mark on Waikiki.
"Everything you leave behind goes on and on," said legendary surfer and beachboy Rabbit Kekai.
And so will the legacy.
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.
