Preparations are under way on the Diamond Head Lawn at the Sheraton Waikiki for the Don Ho memorial service set to begin at 4:30 p.m. ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser   People secure their spot at Queen's Surf Beach around 3:30 p.m. today, a few hours before the public portion of the Don Ho tribute concert kicks off. SCOTT MORIFUJI | The Honolulu Advertiser

Candy, 60, saw Ho while on her first honeymoon in 1966 and immediately fell in love with him. She has since seen Ho perform twice more.

"I loved him, loved his music," she said. "I thought he was a great entertainer."

So Candy was surprised that she and Ken were the first to arrive at the Sunset On The Beach site around 9:45 a.m. this morning.

"Maybe some people didn't want to come down because of the crowd," Candy said.

By 2 p.m., hundreds of people had joined the O'Keys in staking out spots at Queen's Surf Beach.

"I was born and raised in Hawai'i and I grew up on Don Ho," said Liliha resident Verna Matias from her beach chair, positioned under a palm tree on the beach. "He was so down to earth."

Margo Lyn, a Wai'anae resident, came about 1 p.m. on the urging of her husband, who told her she would regret it if she didn't see the memorial in person. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime event," she said.

Lyn's favorite memories of Ho were in the 1960s, when she was a night-shift nurse in Honolulu.

She and her fellow nurses would end their day at 11 p.m., run home to change, then head over to Waikiki to watch Ho perform.