Hilton sets up Don Ho sympathy card
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
At the Hilton Hawaiian Village, where Don Ho headlined in the now-gone Hilton Dome from 1982 to 1990, an oversized card has been set up for fans, hotel guests and employees to sign.
Noel Trainor, current Hilton general manager, said the card will be delivered to Haumea Hebenstreit Ho, his widow, after Ho's May 5 memorial in Waikiki.
"I've been here for 23 years, coming on property in 1984, when Don was in the Dome," Trainor said. "My wife, Lisa, whose stage name was Lahela, was one of his prima dancers at the time, and we all got to know Don well. For many years, Don was an important part of the customer experience here, and we wanted to pay tribute to him."
The hotel will also erect a banner at the entrance of the property off Kalia Road in memory of Ho. Fans may bring floral tributes to the site where the Dome once stood, next to the hotel's three hula kahiko statues on the corner of Kalia Road and Ala Moana.
Next Thursday and Friday, hotel workers and guests will assemble a 76-foot lei in the Shell Bar off the lobby; the length symbolizes Ho's age, 76, at the time of his death. The lei will adorn a double-hulled canoe that will be part of a flotilla carrying Ho's ashes for scattering at sea on May 5.
At the Ho family's request, a public shrine — where notes and flowers can be left in Ho's memory — has not been established at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber hotel, where Ho had been entertaining since 1994.
In lieu of flowers, the family said donations in Ho's memory can be make to two of his favorite organizations: 'Aha Punana Leo, Attn: Eva Nani'ole, 96 Pu'uhonu Place, Hilo, HI 96720, or the Friends of Hokule'a and Hawai'iloa, P.O. Box 696, Kailua, HI 96734.
Other messages of condolences to the Ho family may be sent to Don Ho, 3569 Harding Ave., Suite A, PMB No. 3901, Honolulu, HI 96816.
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.