Tentative plans call for Don Ho's ashes to be scattered on waters off Waikiki and off his Lanikai family home according to his wishes, one of the entertainer's daughters said yesterday.

Dori Ho told The Advertiser that Tihati Productions cofounder Cha Thompson, a longtime family friend, is planning a tribute, tentatively scheduled for May 5 in Waikiki that will allow the public to say aloha to Ho.

Dori Ho said part of her father's ashes will be scattered the same day in Waikiki.

Thompson, who was unavailable for comment, is reportedly working on the tribute at the request of Ho's wife, Haumea Hebenstreit Ho.

The event could feature a big screen like the one used for Sunset on the Beach, said Dori Ho.

Dori, the youngest girl of Ho's six children from his first marriage, said family members held a private gathering and viewing yesterday.

"We're all so overwhelmed by the response of everybody who loved dad," Dori Ho said. "It's such a blessing.

"And he loved everyone, too," she added. "He lived such a full life. We talked and laughed (yesterday) thinking about him, the simple things he did to let us know he was thinking of us."

Among Ho's survivors are 10 children — seven daughters and three sons — 19 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, Dori Ho said.

Ho, 76, died Saturday of heart failure after his wife found him collapsed in the bathroom of their Waikiki home.

Ho was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where he later died.

Ho recently struggled with a life-threatening heart condition known as cardiomyopathy, which led him to reduce his workload to two shows a week. In 2005, he traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, where he underwent experimental stem cell therapy to treat his heart.

Often called "Mr. Waikiki" where he entertained tourists for more than 40 years, Ho burst upon the national music scene in the mid-1960s with tunes such as "Tiny Bubbles" and "Pearly Shells."

For years, he performed before packed Waikiki venues including Duke Kahanamoku's club in the International Market Place, the Cinerama Reef Towers' Polynesian Palace and the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Between 1976 and 1977, Ho hosted "The Don Ho Show," a Hawai'i-based variety show broadcast on ABC, and in 1972, he played himself in an episode of the popular "The Brady Bunch" television show.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.