WAIPAHU — Joshua "Josh" Tabisola was living his dream of flying airplanes.

Tabisola, who had excelled in academics and athletics at Saint Louis School, earned an aerospace science degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., was the elder of two children and "perfect son," his parents Edward and Fran Tabisola said yesterday.

Tabisola, 25, a flight instructor for Anderson Aviation, was piloting a Cessna 177B that plunged into deep and rough waters off Moloka'i's Ka-laupapa peninsula Thursday night. Tabisola and a male student pilot were on the plane.

The Coast Guard suspen-ded its search Saturday after no signs of survivors or the plane were found. Some friends, such as George Hanzawa of George's Aviation, searched unsuccessfully on Sunday.

Tabisola comes from a large, close-knit Christian family that has been gathering at his parents' home in Waipahu since Thursday night. Their grieving is sprinkled with tears and laughter when they recall memories of a charismatic, favorite son.

"Closure is thinking about the laughter we shared with him," said Tabisola's aunt, Marci Bogus of Los Angeles.

Fran Tabisola, a fifth-grade teacher at Pearl City Elementary School, recalled taking her son on flights to Maui when he was 4 months old to visit her husband, who was then the athletic director at St. Anthony High School.

"At first, he wanted to be a clown but it was never a question of what he wanted to be," Mrs. Tabisola said. "He always wanted to fly."

She said when her son was older, he would be invited to sit in the cockpit during interisland flights.

Tabisola was a flight instructor but also worked as a chief scheduler for Aloha Airlines. His goal was to become a commercial airline pilot, his parents said.

"His goal was right there, right within reach," said Edward Tabisola, a teacher at Nanakuli High & Intermediate School.

Josh enjoyed teaching others to fly, and asked his educator parents for advice. "He would come home and ask us how could he make it easier for them to learn," Fran Tabisola said.

Tabisola, a 1999 Saint Louis graduate, was in the National Honor Society. He also wrestled and was a defensive back for the Crusaders' championship football team.

As an aviator, Hanzawa said, Tabisola was a "nice, soft-spoken young man. He was the kind of person I would have liked to have on my team. He was very conscientious and would ask me questions about maintenance. I could see he really had a love for flying."

Her son's body may never be recovered but Fran Tabisola said, "His spirit and soul is what we cling on to."

The National Transportation Safety Board does not plan to investigate the crash unless wreckage is recovered.

A memorial service is pending.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.