Surf photographer's life celebrated

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

MALAEKAHANA — Hundreds of people gathered at Jonathan Wayne Mozo's favorite beach yesterday to bid farewell to the well-known surf photographer who touched many lives.

Friends and family of noted surf photographer Jon Mozo bid a final farewell during a celebration of his life yesterday at Malaekahana Beach. Hundreds attended the event at the beach, where Mozo spent many cherished moments, including the courtship of his wife. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Mozo, 33, died Feb. 9 after suffering severe head injuries while photographing waves and surfers at Banzai Pipeline. Since then, an outpouring of sympathy by hundreds of people has shown his family how much he meant to other people.

"Jon is a very humble person," said his father Reynaldo Mozo, 60. "He never told me the extent of how many hearts he touched. I'm just finding it out."

Reynaldo Mozo admired his son, his accomplishments and his ability to lead a balanced life that gave him time to do many things, including leaving about 1,000 unpublished photos. He said his son foretold his short life after the father complained that he worked too hard.

"He said I might not last long so I go ahead and enjoy myself," Reynaldo Mozo said. "I taught Jon a lot of things, but he taught me a lot of things, too."

Many of the people Jon touched were at the beach memorial with lei, flowers, outrigger canoes and surfboards. After a brief prayer, the family was taken to Jon Mozo's favorite surf break in a double-hull canoe draped in maile lei. About 100 others paddled out with them where they formed a circle, said a prayer and tossed their garlands into the water. Several hundred more stayed on the shore tossing flowers and lei into the shore break.

A couple began chanting in Hawaiian as the canoe headed out to sea to send him off to the "other side," and Ipolani Hiram Thompson, a La'ie resident, offered a Hawaiian chant of farewell. Earlier, Thompson sang songs for the group as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

There was a clear blue sky over Malaekahana. The jade green ocean sparkled with light dancing on the water. The spectators said goodbye in a way that Jon Mozo would have wanted: people sharing themselves, their culture and their stories.

Surfers, from children to seniors, paddled out to Mozo's favorite surf break during yesterday's homage to the photographer's "unique spirit." Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"The thing that just amazes me when we're reflecting on it is everyone considered him his best friend," said Allen Mozo, Jon's oldest brother.

Allen Mozo, 37, said his brother was religious but not preachy.

Jon had lived in Mililani but decided to move to the La'ie area where there was culture for his children, Allen Mozo said.

Jon was the good brother, never lied, was honest and happy. As adults, his three brothers came to appreciate him and what he stood for, Allen Mozo said.

"He carried the torch for our family," he said. "He was the catalyst of it. He held us together. Made peace when the family had problems. He was the one who took care of my parents."

Jon was born to a military family in Honolulu in 1971. His mother was from Maryland and his father from the Philippines and they traveled a lot while Jon was growing up. After graduating from high school, he returned to Hawai'i to attend Brigham Young University-Hawai'i in 1989 but left again in 1994 to pursue his career in photography. He returned two years later to open his own business.

Jon's mother, Julia Mozo, 57, said her son had a unique spirit, always calm and never saying anything bad about other people.

The family will carry on for Jon, whose 12-year-old son is already an accomplished photographer, she said. She said when she first talked to the boy after Jon's death, her grandson comforted her and said, "My dad sacrificed his life for us because he was earning a living for us, and I need to carry on his work."

Ian Forester, 34, and Keao Meyer, 36, were Jon's friends for about 15 years. To describe him, they used words like humble, gracious, giving and selfless.

Jon saved Meyer's life while they were surfing Pipeline years ago. Meyer said he didn't remember much about the incident, but Jon pulled him from the water.

"You always knew if you called on him, he was there," Meyer said.

The news of the accident was shocking, Forester said. "He was such a pillar, that in the back of your mind he was the one thing that would be there for the rest or your life," he said.

Surfers on the beach ranged from the very young to seniors, but there were a lot of teenagers, taking time from their holiday to pay tribute to a man who changed their lives.

Nainoa Heffernan, 15, said Jon turned him around from a stay-at-home couch potato to an active youth. But Heffernan was only one of many youths who was taken under Jon's wing.

"He's a dad to everybody," he said. "My mom told me God put him in my life to show me what kind of dad I should be when I grow up."

After the ceremony on the ocean, everyone returned to shore, where friends provided entertainment, food and a release of pigeons in honor of Jon's free spirit. Some of the guys got up to learn a pig dance, which helped dispel the somber mood and turned it to laughter and cheers.

Nikki Mozo, Jon's wife, said he would have loved it.

"Everything was beautiful and today was beautiful and Jon is beauty personified," Nikki Mozo said. "Today we miss him, but we feel his happiness, his love and his spirit."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.