The telephone rang often at the Kailua home of Howard Kruse in recent weeks.

Men and women representing decades of University of Hawaii basketball called to bid aloha to a man who had shown many of them the meaning of the word.

Kruse, 86, died from liver cancer last week — but not without knowing how deeply he and his wife Sylvia were appreciated by players and coaches going back to the early 1980s.

"It made him very happy. He was a quiet, quiet man," Sylvia said. "But they called him and talked story. It was so exciting for him."

Current coaches Eran Ganot and Laura Beeman were among those who called the former president of the Rainbows booster club and longtime season-ticket holder for several UH teams. So did many players, including Garland Hughes. It was Hughes who urged them to contact Kruse when a doctor’s diagnosis in late April gave him just a few more weeks to live.

Kruse, who played football at Roosevelt High School, had beaten stomach cancer 45 years ago, Sylvia said. He worked in several businesses over the years, including managing the Pali Lanes bowling alley.

Ganot said it was Kruse’s spirit that meant more to UH than anything else.

"You think booster, and you think financial. But with him it was much more. It was always about how he could help and there was never an indication of wanting credit or anything in return," Ganot said. "And he and Sylvia were a great team."

Ganot was alone when he arrived as a graduate assistant in 2006.

"I didn’t know anybody. Zero. Howard and Sylvia were in that group that took me in," Ganot said. "You get to know them and you learn of their impact, you get to know they’re pretty special."

As they did Ganot, Howard and Sylvia Kruse had welcomed a new kid 26 years earlier. This one was from Buffalo, N.Y.

"My parents were so worried about me being so far away from home at 18 years old," Hughes said. "(Meeting Howard and Sylvia) was the first time they felt the aloha of the island people. They understood that although I was far away from home I was never truly alone."

Hughes, who graduated with a business degree in 1985, said he probably wouldn’t have stayed and earned an MBA from UH in 1991 if not for the support of the Kruse family.

"They made me feel like I had started to lay roots in Hawaii," he said.

Sylvia is stepping down as president of the Wahine basketball booster club. But she said she will continue to support UH sports.

"I am going to come back," she said. "Because of the kids."

Memorial services for Howard Kruse are set for July 2 at St. John Vianney Church. Viewing starts at 9 a.m. and the service begins at 11:30, with burial at 3 p.m. at Hawaiian Memorial Cemetery.

"He did it all for the joy of the game, all within the rules," said Hughes, who is coming from his home in Illinois for the services. "He watched encore volleyball games on TV until the day he passed on. Now he has the best seat in the house."

Reach Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com, his “Quick Reads” blog at staradvertiser.com and twitter.com/dave_reardon.