Robert Eugene Worthington, retired director of financial aid for Kamehameha Schools and former Cook Islands honorary consul to the United States, died Aug. 14 in Honolulu.

He was 72.

Throughout his career, Worthington was at the forefront of activities to restore and expand Hawai'i's links with Pacific island nations and territories, particularly the Cook Islands, French Polynesia and New Zealand, according to a statement from close family friend and colleague Gerard "Jerry" Finin, deputy director of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center.

He played a significant behind-the-scenes role in many educational, political, cultural and sports initiatives with institutions including Kamehameha Schools, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the East-West Center, Gates Millennium Scholars Program, Prince Kuhio Hawaiian Civic Club and Pacific Arts Festival, Finin said.

Finin quoted a 2004 interview in Kamehameha Schools' Imua magazine with high school principal Tony Ramos that said, "Because of Bob's knowledge and relationships with other Polynesian people and their governments, he became Kamehameha's liaison/ambassador to the South Pacific."

Worthington was a master of cultural and diplomatic protocol, the Ramos interview said.

"It was through his effort and persistent diligence that student exchange programs began with a Maori school in New Zealand and with schools in the Cook Islands, American Samoa and Tahiti. Those programs really enhanced the awareness and understanding of our students and faculty of the pride and richness of other Polynesian nations and their cultures."

Worthington was born in Honolulu in 1936 and attended Kamehameha School for Boys, where he served as student body president his senior year. He attended Occidental College in California and completed his degree in political science.

In 1985, Worthington was appointed honorary consul, with official recognition by the U.S. Department of State.

In that role, he assisted Cook Islanders for more than 20 years, and his work included helping to expand the papaya industry, promoting tourism and negotiating airline landing rights in Rarotonga, Finin said.

Worthington's deepest professional commitment centered on the advancement of young Hawaiians through formal education. During his tenure as director of financial aid at Kamehameha Schools, Worthington's department grew to administer more than 15,500 annual awards totaling more than $25.4 million — a growth of more than 700 percent in funds awarded.

The overall number of awards exceeded 150,000 and the amount given out totaled more than $200 million. Upon his retirement, Worthington recalled: "When we started out, we were just Kamehameha financial aid, but we ended up being a clearinghouse of various types of financial aid."

He is survived by wife, Jean Rereao Karika Worthington; children, Teanaroa Paka Nakahili Worthington, Manavaroa Kamaki Worthington, Tapaarii Karika Ki'ilehua Worthington, Tevairangi Marae-Hino Pa'ahana Worthington Lopez and Moana Jean Karika Rule; and five grandchildren.

Services are scheduled for Saturday, with a viewing at Kamehameha Chapel from 9 to 11 a.m., followed by a service from 11 a.m. to noon.