Sharon Pomroy, a candidate for Office of Hawaiian Affairs Kauai and Niihau trustee, has been taken off life support after her collapse at an OHA meet-and-greet event on Kauai last week, her family has confirmed.
Pomroy, 63, suffered a pair of seizures shortly after concluding her remarks Wednesday evening at the Aston Aloha Beach Hotel. She then suffered a massive heart attack while being prepared for transport to Wilcox Memorial Hospital.
She never regained consciousness.
Brother Paul Pomroy said his sister had a history of strokes and reportedly told bystanders at the OHA event that she believed she may have suffered a series of ministrokes before the event.
Pomroy said he and sister Onaona Maly decided to remove their sister from life support Sunday after being informed that she had suffered severe and irreparable damage to her heart and brain.
"It’s a matter of time now," Pomroy said.
Although a newcomer to the political arena, Sharon Pomroy was widely known as a fiery activist for environmental and cultural causes.
An angler, farmer and educator, Pomroy experienced a political and social awakening during the Hawaiian political renaissance of the 1970s, her brother said. Pomroy would go on to protest against the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, fight on behalf of endangered plants and animals, and lobby for the protection of Native Hawaiian remains, or iwi.
"People would seek out her knowledge and manao," Paul Pomroy said. "She was very straightforward and she never held anything back. She did what she thought was right, and she was very candid.
"Sharon wanted to help young Hawaiians, and young people in general, be more aware of Hawaiian culture and to help strengthen and preserve it."
