Henry Lee, who coached scores of athletes at Kamehameha Schools, including Rockne Freitas and retired school president and headmaster Michael J. Chun, died April 8. Lee was 86.
"He was a great, great coach and a very good friend. A good man," said Freitas, a former NFL standout and currently the chancellor at the University of Hawaii West Oahu campus. "He was a great teacher of the fundamentals and he goes back to the fundamentals with everybody. He’s not a yeller, so we could relate to him. But he told us what to do and, with no questions, we did it."
Freitas said he played for Lee "in seventh and eighth grades and he was my JV (basketball) coach at Kamehameha and also track coach."
Lee was an assistant football coach for Kamehameha in the 1950s, coached outside basketball leagues and continued to coach in high school for more than 50 years.
"His coaching history at Kamehameha goes beyond track and field," said Sam Moku, Kamehameha’s track coach from 1995 to 2007. "He was a basketball coach, football coach, track coach, all kine."
Lee made his biggest impact coaching hurdlers, helping the school produce many state champions, including David Maeva. Moku said Lee coached hurdlers until 2005 and had the "ability to motivate the athletes at the right time during the right meets. He had a long history of good hurdlers."
Moku also helped establish the Henry Lee track meet, which has been held during spring break in March for the past 10 years.
Lee is survived by Joan, his wife of more than 60 years; sons Duane Lee and Rolland Lee; daughters Kapua Lee, Stacia Peleholani (Mark) and Cheryl Mikilani Kamakea (Kahoaka), eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services will be held Sunday at Kamehameha Schools Chapel from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A private burial will be at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe on April 23.
