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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Thursday, January 13, 2005

Peter Aiona Jr., 62, took stand

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

Peter Aiona Jr., a former Hawai'i County police officer who won a seven-year legal battle to uphold his religious practices, died Saturday at the age of 62.

Aiona, who would later become chief investigator for the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, joined the police department in 1969. He was fired in 1972 from his job as a Ka'u patrolman when he refused to work on his sabbath day — from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday — after joining the Seventh-day Adventist church.

The county Civil Service Commission upheld his firing, but the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission supported his civil rights complaint and filed a lawsuit against the county claiming discrimination on the basis of religion. Aiona agreed to a settlement in 1979 that gave him a $5,000 payment and restored his seniority.

During the lengthy litigation, Aiona's family suffered while he undertook a series of low-paying jobs. He was hired by the prosecutor's office in 1977 and was assigned to the career criminal prosecution unit. Dean Sumida, who took over as chief investigator when Aiona retired in 1998, described him as "a kind, honest person who treated everybody fairly."

After retiring, he served as pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Lana'i for about a year, according to Hilo church elder Horace Farr, who is related to Aiona's wife. Aiona also was instrumental in getting the Seventh-day Adventist church in Puna built, Farr said, and served on the Seventh-day Adventist's Hawai'i Conference executive committee.

"He stood for what he believed in, regardless of the consequences. He believed God would take care of him and his family," Farr said.

Aiona is survived by wife, Yolanda; son, Peter III; daughters, Tanya Andrade, Shawna Sherlock and Ellen Asuncion; brothers, William, James Sr., Patrick, Mark and Quintin; sisters, Jane Aganas, Rosemarie "Billie" Baclig, Joanne Peralta and Cosie Sasaki; and 12 grandchildren.

Visitation is from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday at Dodo Mortuary in Hilo, with a service at 7 p.m. Visitation continues from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hilo, with a service at 11:30 a.m. and burial at East Hawai'i Veterans Cemetery No 2. The family requests aloha attire.