Herbert Takami "H.T." Hayashi, recently deceased owner of the Pacific Beach Hotel, King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel and the Pagoda Hotel and Floating Restaurant, didn't let naysayers come between him and his visions.

"No one could believe that plot of marshland at the Pagoda could be made into a beautiful koi pond," said Sharon Lutao, longtime director of revenue management at Hayashi's HTH Corporation.

"But he did."

No one thought he could pump seawater directly into a 280,000-gallon, three-story "Oceanarium" in the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki, she and her fellow employees said of their boss.

But Hayashi did.

"He wanted an attraction that nobody else had," Lutao said.

"He was such a visionary, and he had such passion in everything he did."

Born on Kaua'i and raised by parents who brought him to O'ahu and worked on a sugar plantation, Hayashi died Nov. 6 at The Queen's Medical Center.

He was 85, and HTH Corporation had become one of the largest hospitality companies in the state.

"He respected hard work," said Linda Morgan, human resources director at HTH for 23 years.

"He respected education, and said it was the way to better your life."

She said her boss insisted on being billed in his own restaurants, paid for parking at his own facilities, and often picked up stray papers and cigarette butts from his properties.

"He hated cigarette butts," she said.

Despite the wealth he accumulated over the years, he continued to live modestly, said Mike Chikasuye, advertising manager.

"He drove an old station wagon with wood paneling on the side," Chikasuye said.

"It was not something you'd think a CEO would drive."

He once took a young and high-strung executive chef and taught him to choose his battles, said John Lopianetzky, now director of food and beverage for HTH.

"He told me that if I cross the street on a green light and a truck runs over me, I'm still right," Lopianetzky said. "But now I'm dead right."

Hayashi is survived by his daughters, Corine Hayashi and Gina Hayashi-Lazo, and son, Lance Hayashi.

"My father was a visionary who loved Hawai'i very much," said Corine Hayashi, president and chief executive officer of HTH Corporation.

"He grew up on an O'ahu sugar plantation and learned to work hard for a living, but also to be grateful for the opportunities given him. ... He reached his goals and exceeded them, then continued to create and to provide opportunity for others."

Funeral services for Hayashi will be held at the Diamond Head Mortuary on Monday. Viewing will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Services begin at 6 p.m.

The burial service will be private.

Donations may be made to the Blood Bank of Hawai'i, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Queen's Medical Center, and Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center.

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.