The Hawaii soccer community lost a true ambassador of the sport when Chester Chee of Hawaii Kai died July 20 at 75.

Chee, a semi-retired accountant, was a soccer statistician and scorekeeper for the Oahu Interscholastic Association, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and the Hawaii High School Athletic Association.

For many years during the high school soccer regular season, Chee gathered scores and statistics from coaches around Oahu and reported them to the local media. He developed lasting friendships with many of the coaches, athletic directors, media members and tournament organizers.

At state tournament time, Chee was front and center in the press box at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium, watching as many games as possible and keeping score for the benefit of others.

Chee started serving as a statistician when his sons, Nelson, Nathan and Jonathan, played for Kaiser. Over the years, the role expanded from just Kaiser High, to Kaiser and opponents to the whole OIA and then on to the ILH and HHSAA.

Aside from his three sons, Chee also leaves his loving wife Charlotte, two brothers, a sister, a half-brother and two granddaughters.

“He was a simple guy,” said Nelson Chee, who is now the athletic director at Kaiser. “He wasn’t expecting a lot in return. He just wanted to help people. There was a need that nobody was filling. Hawaii is a big soccer community. He was the missing part and he loved that. He loved soccer.”

Natalie Iwamoto, who works for the HHSAA, will be one of many who will miss Chee’s presence at the state tournaments, but not just for his stats role.

“Above all, the thing I will miss most about Chester is his genuine care and concern for other people,” Iwamoto said. “Whenever I arrived at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium, he would already be there, ready to go. He would always greet me with a smile, tell me that he hasn’t seen me in a long time and ask how my daughters were doing. He would be so happy to be there to help and that all he needed was a cup of coffee and he was good. The tournament just won’t be the same without him.”

Nelson Chee said there has been a large outpouring of people from the soccer community and elsewhere offering his family their condolences.

“(They told me) he was always positive and never had negative things to say,” Nelson Chee said. “Even coaches who lost, he would tell them, ‘You’ll get ’em next time.’ ”

Chester Chee was born and raised in Honolulu. He worked for RVac from 1967 to 1988 and was self-employed after that.

Services for Chee will be at Hosoi Garden Mortuary on Aug. 27. Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m. with services to follow from 1 to 2 p.m. and refreshments from 2 to 3 p.m.