Philanthropist Dorvin D. Leis, who started a plumbing business on Maui more than four decades ago and expanded it into the largest mechanical contracting firm in the state, has died.
Leis, who donated more than $10 million to hundreds of nonprofit groups, died June 15 at his home in Kihei, Maui, after a prolonged bout with cancer. He was 86.
Mayor Alan Arakawa described Leis as a humble man who made major contributions to the community.
"He didn’t do it for the recognition. He did it because he knew it was the right thing to do," Arakawa said. "I’m going to miss him. He was a really good friend."
Art Vento, president of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, said Leis was an "incredible guy."
"There’s a lot of organizations throughout the state that can attribute a lot of wonderful things that Dorvin and the Leis family have afforded them and the MACC," Vento said.
Leis, born in Riverside., Calif., was an entrepreneur by age 12, selling limeade for 5 cents and plate lunches for 25 cents during the summer, the family said.
He started his mechanical contracting business in Pomona, Calif., in 1961 and was involved in construction on Maui, including the building of the Travelodge Hotel in Lahaina, and moved his family to the Valley Isle in 1972.
Besides employing more than 400 people statewide at Dorvin D. Leis Co., Leis helped to start a variety of other ventures, including Mokulele Airlines, a music publishing company in Nashville, several radio stations in Texas, and National Pasteurized Eggs Inc., which operates in several countries, including the United States.
Leis installed solar-powered air-conditioners in government buildings, including a hospital in American Samoa and his own office building in Kahului in the 1970s.
"He was very much a visionary-type guy," said his son Stephen, president and chief executive officer of Dorvin D. Leis Co. "He was the type of personality who likes to move forward, likes to work hard … always looking to do something new and exciting. … He never saw himself as retiring."
He and his wife, Betty, were known for their philanthropy, including a $1 million donation to the University of Hawaii-Maui College’s dining facility used to train future chefs.
The facility is now called The Leis Family Class Act Restaurant.
Earlier this year, he and his wife received the Lei of Distinction, the highest honor that the Maui Arts & Cultural Center bestows upon individuals with exceptional vision.
In the past, Leis served as the co-chairman of a capital fund committee for the center and the Maui Family YMCA.
He and his wife donated the Kihei Canoe Club’s first canoe and supported the Kihei Little League and Kihei Youth Center.
"He made his money here. The community supported him and … he was going to support the community," Stephen said.
His awards included the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Maui County Council of the Boy Scouts, T.S. Shinn Award, the Maui Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the Aloha Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the Stephen L. Jackstadt Award from the Hawaii Council on Economic Education.
Vento said Leis possessed rare and inspiring traits as an astute businessman with a deep commitment to his family and the community.
"He’s left a legacy of support that will carry on," Vento said.
Leis is survived by wife Betty and six children, including sons Luke, Stanley, Charles, Stephen and Timothy; daughter Nancy; 13 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
A service is planned for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Maui College campus between the library and the student center. Visitation will begin at 3:30 p.m.
