For generations of Hawai'i residents, it's hard to imagine a Honolulu Star-Bulletin without a Corky cartoon.

Biting, funny and poignant, often in the same cartoon, Corky Trinidad was looked to by readers for his distinctive, insightful and thought-provoking take on the day's events, be it a dog-barking bill before the Honolulu City Council or the horrific events of 9/11.

Francisco Flores Trinidad Jr., 69, died early yesterday of complications from pancreatic cancer. At the time he fell ill and took leave just before Thanksgiving, Trinidad was doing two cartoons a day for the Star-Bulletin, the publication with which he had been synonymous since his arrival there in 1969.

Former Star-Bulletin Editor David Shapiro said he often would arrive at his office grumpy at 4:30 a.m. only to see "a Corky" in his in-box that would make him laugh out loud because of its insight and humor.

"He was truly a great journalist, not just a cartoonist," said Shapiro, now an Advertiser columnist. "He had it all — he could draw and he was very passionate about the positions he took. He staked out very strong positions yet he was so funny he made you laugh out loud often."

Through four ownership changes of the Star-Bulletin, countless changes in newsroom management and a near-collapse at the paper, the single-monikered Corky remained the most recognizable face for the Star-Bulletin despite his quiet, unassuming manner.

"In many ways, he was the face of the Star-Bulletin," current Star-Bulletin Editor Frank Bridgewater said. "He's the one people thought of when they thought of the Star-Bulletin."

Mary Poole, the newspaper's editorial page editor, said no one told Trinidad what topics or positions to take. "He chose the topic, he chose the statement, that was all him," she said.

That journalistic integrity was admired among his colleagues in the newsroom.

"Corky was the heart and soul of this place, and its conscience," Poole said. "If you needed a source of the unfiltered truth or opinion, you went to Corky because he didn't hold back."

Longtime Advertiser cartoonist Dick Adair, Trinidad's rival for more than 25 years, said of his good friend: "He was better than me."

It wasn't that Trinidad's caricatures were better, Adair said, but "he was always on point, he would get his point across."

An avowed news junkie and journalism major when he graduated from the University of Ateneo de Manila, Trinidad said in a 1980 Honolulu magazine article that he once wanted to be an editor or reporter. "I never took an art course — any draftsman can outdraw me on a given day. I like to think of myself as a writer, a columnist, except that instead of words, I use drawings."

Among Trinidad's most famous targets was former Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos, beginning with Trinidad's time as a political cartoonist and columnist for the Philippines Herald in the 1960s.

At least one scholar believes, however, that Trinidad wielded his greatest influence when Marcos lived in exile in Hawai'i from 1986 until his death in 1989.

Antonio Contreras, a Fulbright scholar at the University of Hawai'i and a political science professor at Manila's De La Salle University, said Trinidad contributed to the anti-Marcos movement outside the Philippines.

"He continued to put attention on Marcos even though he was no longer in the Philippines," Contreras said. "He reminded people of what kind of person (Marcos) was, that the struggle was not yet finished and that he needed to be held accountable for the things he had done."

The first Asian-American to be an editorial cartoonist at a U.S. daily newspaper, Trinidad's contributions also were recognized by the Asian American Journalists Association.

Trinidad was "one of a rare breed of artists who was able to combine beautifully executed illustrations with political bite," AAJA national executive director Ellen Endo said.

Two days before his death, entertainer Jimmy Borges paid a visit to Trinidad's hospital bed and sang "Fly Me to the Moon," one of Trinidad's favorites, to his good friend.

Son Lorenzo Trinidad confirmed his father's reputation for giving away for free the cartoons that appeared in the newspaper to those he depicted, be they presidents or regular local folks who suddenly found themselves in the news.

"I think Mayor (Frank) Fasi probably has a good chunk of originals from Pop," Lorenzo Trinidad said of another of Corky's favorite subjects.

Corky Trinidad is survived by his wife, Hana; sons, Emmanuel and Lorenzo; daughters, Pia Sprague, Lara Nishimura and Anela; brothers, Ferdie and Noel; sister, Marilyn Mapa; and two grandchildren.

Services are pending.