Lives lost to COVID-19: Art Whistler of Manoa

The seeds of knowledge that Art Whistler, a world-­renowned expert on Polynesian botany and ethnobotany, planted in life have taken root and continue to grow and inspire others following his death nearly three years ago.

Whistler, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, was the third life lost to COVID-19 in Hawaii when he died April 2, 2020, after battling the coronavirus for more than three weeks. He was 75.

He contracted COVID-19 while visiting family in Washington state, where there was an outbreak, according to his girlfriend, Alice Campbell. Upon his return to Hawaii, he went to an urgent-care clinic where workers swabbed his nose, took an X-ray, then sent him home.

Campbell was in Canada at the time and kept in daily video contact with him. But when it became apparent on March 7 that he was in respiratory distress, she arranged for an ambulance to pick him up. Whistler was admitted to Kaiser Permanente Moanalua and placed in isolation.

Though his condition briefly seemed to improve, he was eventually placed on a ventilator and never regained consciousness.

It was heartbreaking for Whistler’s family and those close to him not to able to travel to be with him at the hospital due to high levels of COVID-19 transmission, and visitors were not allowed in the intensive-care unit.

But his legacy has been far-reaching and continues to this day.

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Whistler was an avid hiker, tennis player and globe-trotter. He loved and respected nature, and spent much of his time in the forests of Samoa, which was practically his second home. As a Peace Corps volunteer in 1968, he taught biology at a local college and began what would become his life’s work.

Whistler earned a doctorate in botany from UH-Manoa in 1979, held a postdoctoral appointment at the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai, and was also a research affiliate at the Bishop Museum.

Over the years, Whistler made over 100 trips to Samoa and conducted research on other Pacific islands. Campbell said he was known as “Tutu o le Vao,” the King of the Forest, and was fluent in Samoan as well as many languages of Oceania.

Samoan journalist Ken Aiono Sataraka said Whistler’s work helped preserve some of the traditional knowledge that was slowly disappearing.

“Some say, his greatest contribution as an ethnobiologist, was studying the use of plants, for medicinal and cultural purposes, but his research reaches far beyond that,” he wrote in a Facebook tribute. “Its cultural impact on our indigenous knowledge, and preservation of those practices is consequential to reclaiming vanishing practices.”

Sataraka told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “To Pacific Islanders, he’s a giant in the field and he has contributed so much that is about the culture in Polynesia.”

Prior to his death, Whistler was working on “Flora of Samoa,” an encyclopedia of more than 500 plants in Samoa that was near completion. This was to be his magnum opus, reflecting decades of meticulous work. He had already completed the research, manuscript and photos.

The National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution completed the final editing and published his book in November. The 940-page “Flora of Samoa: Flowering Plants” is now available for purchase.

Whistler authored dozens of books, including “Rainforest Trees of Samoa” and “The Samoan Rainforest.”

Campbell said that as an ethnobotanist, he was instrumental in recording and preserving the knowledge of local healers, as evidenced in his books such as “Samoan Herbal Medicine” and “Polynesian Herbal Medicine.” It was always his goal to record, to share and to mentor, she said.

The Art Whistler Memorial Garden in Apia, Samoa, opened Aug. 26, 2021, featuring the rare and endangered plants of Samoa within Vailima Botanical Garden. It was his long-held vision, which became reality thanks to support from the Samoa Conservation Society and private donations from family, friends and colleagues, Botanic Gardens Conservation International and others.

There is a memorial stone dedicated to Whistler in the garden, along with a wheelchair-accessible walkway leading to a restored fale, or traditional house. Visitors can learn about Whistler’s work and view and better understand the importance of Samoa’s rare and endangered plants.

“We hope the garden will nurture the ‘seeds’ of flora conservation in Samoa, further encourage ethnobotanical growth and traditional skills, and continue to bring them to fruition,” wrote James Atherton, president of the Samoa Conservation Society, on a fundraising site for the garden. “In this way, Art will leave a lasting legacy for current and future generations of Samoans.”

Atherton said Whistler was just as dedicated to bringing knowledge of local flora and the importance of conservation to local communities as to a scientific audience.

Campbell today focuses on furthering Whistler’s legacy to protect and preserve the rich biodiversity of Samoa. She supports the Samoan Conservation Society’s work and has formed “Art’s Army,” made up of family, friends, colleagues and supporters around the world.

Whistler was also a beloved grandfather, father, brother, colleague and friend to many throughout the world. He is survived by his sister, Patricia, son, Sean, daughter, Kira Matangi, and grandchildren Elise, Jasmine and Jack.