Eugene Theodore “Bucky” Leslie came from a family of fishermen in Napoopoo, South Kona, but he followed a much different and far more colorful path, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.

Known for his youthful good looks and a flair for fashion and style, Leslie pursued a variety of interests, from modeling for Copper­tone suntan products while in his 20s in Los Angeles to running for state office in his 70s in Kona.

Upon his return home, Leslie opened a flower shop, Flowers for Mama, and became heavily involved in Hawaiian civic clubs. He unsuccessfully ran for the state House in 2018 and the Senate in 2014.

The 79-year-old Captain Cook resident died March 26 at Kona Community Hospital after the SUV he was driving struck a guardrail the night of March 25, crossed Highway 11 and hit a rock embankment in South Kona.

“He was loved by everybody in Kona, and he loved everybody in Kona. It’s not the same without him,” said his sister, Pearl Hind.

Childhood friend Christina Ramos said Leslie was never without a smile.

“Even when sad things were happening, a funeral or whatever, he would still smile. I think that’s what people will remember him for. From his big heart he was always giving and always smiling,” she said.

Oahu resident Mona Bernardino said Leslie, who could have passed for 50, was “very loving and generous. He shared with people and laughed. He was frank. He was loved by everyone.”

Leslie served as president of the Hawaii Island Council of the Association of the Hawaiian Civic Clubs and was a member of the Kuakini Hawaiian Civic Club of Kona and the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu.

He often brought flowers to raise funds at the Holoku Ball, the association’s annual gala.

“As a gay man, he was unafraid to be himself,” Bernar­dino said. “He had a New York fashion style and lots of class in how he dressed. … He was truly one of a kind. I will miss him.”

In his later years Leslie reached out with encouragement to LGBTQ youths in the community.

“I want to teach kids to love themselves and be honest with themselves,” he said in a 2017 article by Karen Rose of Ke Ola Magazine, a Hawaii island lifestyle and culture publication. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. It’s what you think and how you feel about yourself that matters.

“We have so many teenage suicides, and it’s because they don’t feel accepted or they can’t accept the fact they are gay,” he told Rose. “I’m 75 years old, and I want to show these kids that they can achieve anything they want in life.”

Leslie and his partner were among the first to be married when same-sex marriage was legalized in Hawaii in 2013.

Close friend Valery O’Brien said every Valentine’s Day, Leslie sent anthuriums to the Hawaii Kai Retirement Community, with over 300 residents.

“He made sure all the ladies had a heart,” she said.

Leslie also danced hula and led a halau made up mostly of kupuna, according to O’Brien.

Born June 29, 1942, Leslie graduated from Konawaena High School in 1962.

While attending Church College of Hawaii, he worked in Waikiki and developed friendships with entertainers, Ramos said. He loved entertaining and was lead singer in a band, according to the Ke Ola article.

Leslie went on to earn a master’s degree in education and psychology at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After a brief teaching stint in Los Angeles, he worked as an Aloha Airlines flight attendant, opened clothing stores in Honolulu and modeled for Coppertone.

During his modeling days he worked with celebrities including Julie Andrews, Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner.

He also employed his elegant style when working with flowers, Ramos said. He regularly prepared flower arrangements for Englebert Humperdinck’s California house when the singer would return from Las Vegas.

In the mid-1960s Leslie lived in Los Angeles with a television executive, and the couple was featured in the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” reality TV show, according to the Ke Ola article.

When Leslie returned to Kona in the late 1960s, he renewed his friendship with Ramos, and she accompanied him “to every party, where everyone knew him,” she said. “He was flamboyant and fun,” and wore his signature red shoes, slippers or boots, “and always a big smile.”

A memorial service will be held 2 to 6 p.m. April 22 at Hulihee Palace in Kailua-­Kona.