Hundreds of people turned out today for a service memorializing the lives of local veterinarian Nicholas Palumbo and son Tim, who were killed last week in a small-plane crash between Ka'au Crater and the Lanipo Trail.

Visitors overflowed the Star of the Sea Parish for a service that — in keeping with the Palumbo's characteristic humor — elicited nearly as many laughs as tears.
The Palumbos died after Nicholas Palumbo's Piper Cherokee single-engine plane crashed into steep eastern face of a ridge about 60 feet west of the Lanipo Trail as the two were returning to Honolulu from Lana'i, where Nicholas Palumbo operated a veterinary practice.
"(Nicholas) was and always will be the love of my life," said Palumbo's widow Sue Sylvester-Palumbo.
Sylvester-Palumbo remembered their son, Tim, as a young man who despite being called "disabled" had "many, many abilities."
Several speakers recalled Tim's outgoing personality and uncanny ability to recall weather statistics, dates, car mileage and other facts.
"My young, beautiful boy has finally transcended the label 'disabled,'" Sylvester-Palumbo said.
For more on this story, see tomorrow's Honolulu Advertiser.