Julie Kala Honda normally had her say and way in life; in death she still called the shots.
Honda, wife of longtime Hawaii hotelier Fred Honda, died Nov. 2 in Loveland, Colo. She was 85.
By any measure she was a celebrity whose name appeared in columns alongside more conventional luminaries from stage, music, politics or fashion. Her outgoing personality and undeniable hospitality — from the time she was a social director of a Hawaii hotel to a small-business woman here, a founder of the Kona Coffee Festival on Hawaii island to a socialite due to her spousal role — made her a community “somebody” wherever she lived.
“Julie was truly a ‘game fighter,’ never faltering and keeping active in spite of her many medical handicaps,” said her husband. “A decade ago her doctor said she had five years (to live) — well, she had 10.”
It was not an easy decade; she had two open heart surgeries, had a pacemaker installed and battled a failing kidney. But Julie and Fred marked their 50th wedding anniversary in October.
In the early morning of Oct. 28, she was at her Loveland home shortly after midnight, navigating with a walker to get a snack of milk and cookies, when she fell in the kitchen, suffering a light hemorrhage in her brain and fractures in her neck, according to her husband.
She had surgery, recovered well enough to laugh and talk with a neck brace, but suffered two heart failures and ultimately was placed on life support. Family members gathered at the hospital, where her wishes were fulfilled: She was pulled off life support; it was her call.
“Julie epitomized the perfect balance of grace, kindness mixed in with a naughty flamboyance,” said Patricia Tam, chief executive adviser of the Halekulani Corp.
Peter Shaindlin, chief operating officer of the Halekulani, said, “Julie was a rock in the community … one of those rarefied people.”
Entertainer Randy Hongo said, “Julie was the queen; when she entered a room, she commanded your attention, respect, admiration and occasionally fear.”
Sarah Fargo, a close friend, said, “She was a mother figure in sage advice, she was a sistah in all things fun.”
Honda was born Julie Barcoma in Pauwela, Maui.
She was the first female president of the Kona Chamber of Commerce.
Honda organized the Kona Coffee Festival and arranged parades and crafts events. She is the lone honorary lifetime member of the popular annual visitor and resident event.
With La Chaine des Rotisseurs, the gastronomic society, she was a regional officer and the first woman to receive the President’s Medal.
She worked in retail at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom in San Francisco; with airlines such as United, Delta and Air India; and with resorts like Maui’s Royal Lahaina, Sheraton Maui and Kaanapali Beach Hotel. She also operated Julie’s Boutique and Koa Puka.
Services were held in Loveland.
Besides husband Fred, survivors include daughters Patti Hokulani Honda-Davis and Lee Ann Doering (from Fred Honda’s earlier marriage); son Kyle Kalani Honda; brothers Gilbert Barcoma and Glen Barcoma; sisters Chris Souza, Prisilla Duque, Sandra Kanemitsu and April Moniz; and grandsons Travis Kanekoa Davis and Garet Kealii Davis.
In notes prepared in September 2014, Honda mandated that that her remains be cremated and kept until her husband joins her for burial on Maui, above her mother’s grave.
And this is how Honda specified details for her services: She requested that Randy Hongo perform “My Way,” not “Amazing Grace,” or perhaps “The Impossible Dream”; on dress before cremation, she requested “my white lace holoku with pink underlinings” (her wedding dress); on photo, “the one with peacock”; and on family attire, “I want my siblings to be wearing red flower in their hair.”
Services will be held Dec. 9 at St. Augustine Church, 130 Ohua Ave., with visitation from 12:30 p.m., remembrances at 1:30 p.m. and Mass at 2:30 p.m. Martha Mahinalani Melton, Julie’s hanai sister and best friend from San Francisco who hosted the couple’s 50th-anniversary celebration in Las Vegas, will deliver the eulogy. Valet or self-parking. Aloha attire, no flowers.
