Don Ho send-off May 5 on beach in Waikiki
Don Ho: 1930-2007
Don Ho may or may not have been Hawai'i's greatest entertainer. But there was no doubt that he was one of its most beloved. Read our stories, see more photos and video, and share your condolences.
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i's final aloha to the late Don Ho will be May 5 on the shores of his beloved Waikiki, a family spokeswoman confirmed yesterday.
The funeral and tribute, which will be open to the public, will be at Queen's Surf Beach, said Cha Thompson, who was a friend of the entertainer for more than four decades.
Ho may only be there in spirit, but the late entertainer is expected to pack the house for a final, teary hana hou.
"Locals don't like to go into Waikiki," Thompson said. "But I can tell you that there are going to be a ton of locals there for this."
Ho died Saturday of apparent heart failure. He was 76.
Queen's Surf Beach regularly hosts the city's popular Sunset on the Beach and in the past has accommodated close to 10,000 people. Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, mindful that the tribute could attract an enormous crowd, told Ho's family that the city would help with the logistics, said city spokesman Mark Matsunaga.
"The city will provide whatever help it can to support it," Matsunaga said.
Yesterday Thompson began to make funeral arrangements amid calls from media and well-wishers from all corners of the globe.
She plans to have Ho's ashes scattered offshore, paddled out in a flotilla of canoes by beach boys.
Numerous Hawai'i entertainers have asked to participate by performing in a tribute to Ho.
"Every entertainer in the state wants to perform," she said. "I'm being very selective about who we use. Don loved them all. They all loved Don. But the ones that Don knew personally will get a chance to sing one last song."
Thompson, who is the co-owner with her husband of Tihati Productions, said it has been an emotional struggle to organize a memorial event so soon after losing her longtime friend.
"He was my buddy," she said.
Thompson was with the family on Ho's last day.
She learned that Ho had been taken by ambulance to The Queen's Medical Center when she got a call Saturday morning from his wife, Haumea Hebenstreit Ho.
They waited together in the emergency room.
"I got to say my farewells privately and personally," she said.
Thompson said no one will ever be able to replace Ho.
"He was one of a kind," she said. "There was nothing fake about him. No one else could go to a royal function in Bermuda shorts and slippers."
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
