Clifford Sonny Jamile's engineering and professional management skills as manager and chief engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply were matched by his vision and the selfless attitude by which he lived his life, say those who knew him best.

Jamile, a Pearl City resident, died March 10 at The Queen's Medical Center at age 69.

Alika Jamile, second-oldest of seven children, honors his older brother's memory, not by what the man accomplished working his way up from the bottom to head of the Board of Water Supply in a career that spanned 42 years, but in remembering the kind of person he was.

"He was our family leader," Alika Jamile said. "When our dad died, he was a senior in high school at Kamehameha, and everything fell on him. He was an excellent father image and always sacrificed for us.

"When I was at Cal-Berkeley, I lost my football scholarship because of injury in my senior year," Alika Jamile added. "He paid my last year of school. He was very special, my hero. Everything I did he had something to do with. I feel like half of me is gone now."

Born in Honolulu and raised in Papakolea, Clifford Jamile earned his engineering degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., in 1960 after graduating five years earlier from Kamehameha.

Jamile joined the Board of Water Supply in 1963 as a mechanical engineer and was named manager and chief engineer in 1998, a position he held until retirement in 2005.

David Yogi, of Yogi Kwong Engineers, met Jamile about eight years ago, and they became good friends.

"I considered Cliff a visionary who expanded the scope of the board," Yogi said.

He pointed to the bold changes Jamile instituted to ensure the future of the Board of Water Supply and to preserve and protect O'ahu's water resources for generations to come by launching innovative programs such as desalination, district cooling, and the acquisition of military water systems.

Jamile spearheaded conservation efforts and preservation of watersheds based on the Hawaiian ahupua'a system, a strong point during his tenure in the opinion of Carol Costa, former city director of customer service.

"One word — gentleman — describes him best," Yogi added. "He was a kind, attentive person, an excellent engineer, a visionary from the management side and a man who cared intensely for the Board of Water Supply."

Jamile was an active volunteer, who coached youth baseball in Pacific Palisades and at Pearl City High, and Pop Warner football in Pearl City.

He is survived by his wife, Melva; sons Parker "Sid," Kelii, Kala, Moku and Kamee; daughters Poochie Paulino, Tweedles Hanzawa and Kekaulike Jamile; brothers Alika, Clinton, Winston and Clem; sisters Tiare Miyasato and Jessica Santiago Lopez; 31 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Services will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at Borthwick Mortuary. Visitation from 9 a.m. Aloha attire, no flowers.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.