Column: An era ends with passing of ‘Tuxedo Man’ Raymond K. Petry

Generations of Oahu kamaaina observed the interesting and eccentric Mr. Raymond Kenneth Petry, known by several names, from “Mr. Peachtree” to “Tuxedo Man” to “Kailua Man.” On Aug. 22, Mr. Petry died in the night at a Manoa location where he had been staying.

Three generations of kamaaina grew up watching Mr. Petry shuffle about the streets of Manoa and Kailua, an aging haole man, gray-haired and bearded. His stark white shirt contrasted with black trousers and jacket. Mr. Petry was weighed down, always, either by a briefcase in earlier years, or an alarmingly ever-increasing number of plastic white University of Hawaii-Manoa bookstore bags.

Known in Manoa as “Tuxedo Man,” Mr. Petry corrected his fans with mild annoyance that he wore “a dinner jacket,” not a tuxedo. For many of us, he was quiet, keeping to himself. If you greeted him, he often replied with nothing besides a wan smile. But if you spoke of obscure mathematical, astronomy or religious topics, he could talk long about fantastical theories.

Petry’s uncanny behavior at UH-Manoa and Honolulu public facilities made him a traveling icon. It’s possible that tens of thousands of people, worldwide, now have distinct memories of Petry sightings. He patronized the Kailua Library, the Manoa pool, UH-Manoa (particularly Hamilton Library), and of course, wandered Manoa Valley’s long ingress roads, such as University Avenue. Petry was unusual and yet harmless, even graceful.

I recall, as one of the first students in Hamilton Library in the mornings, back in the Gov. Linda Lingle days, Petry would avail himself of the stand-up computers, which you cannot leave unattended once logged on, not even to use the restroom, and where you cannot eat or drink. I would return between classes for short breaks throughout the day, and studying there at night. Petry would remain all day at the same computer, standing. Petry took a number of classes and even bought an Apple laptop from the university, showering at the pool up Manoa Valley, and then sleeping in the front of the valley at night.

The stories about Petry multiply from the apocryphal into the outlandish. There is no way that all be true. Petry appears not to be the infamous “Piano Man” of Liberty House, says Ruth Komatsu of Manoa in an online forum, who actually was a lookalike named William Woods. Also, Petry was not a “local” trust-fund kid who became homeless, despite some people’s wishful projections. Journalist Amber Khan reported that Petry was born in Pennsylvania, got here in 1982, and had roamed the aina ever since.

My friend Sean asked if we would have “thought of him differently had he been wearing shorts and T-shirt all these years?” Perhaps one thing that made Petry special for us is that, in an age of declining shared interest, we could all share Tuxedo Man or Kailua Man sightings. Petry was a constant who was also variable, like the weather. Perhaps he also suggested the gentleness of a now-passing era, where houseless persons could go about their business in dignity.

If you know reliable information about Mr. Petry, please contact medical examiner Alexis Peterson, who is gathering information about him, including next-of-kin: (808) 768-3090, option 2; direct line (808) 768-9712; email alexis.peterson@honolulu.gov.

Dylan P. Armstrong is a University of Hawaii-Manoa alumnus and current chairman of the Manoa Neighborhood Board.