Jim Kauahikaua, an esteemed geophysicist and the first Native Hawaiian to become a scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, died Oct. 8 in Hilo at the age of 72.

“He was such a steward of these volcanic islands,” said Kauahikaua’s wife of 34 years, Jeri Gertz. “He was a reliable, trusted source, full of information about the land he lived on. It will be impossible to forget him.”

Kauahikaua was born on Oahu on Aug. 1, 1951, and grew up in his family home in Kailua. His uncle worked at Volcano House on Hawaii island and would often tell him stories about the eruptions, which piqued Kauahikaua’s interest in volcanoes at a young age, Gertz said.

After graduating from Kamehameha Schools in 1969, he went on to study at Pomona College where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geology in 1973, before going to the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees by 1982, according to a news release.

“I think geophysics attracted him because he loved puzzles,” Gertz said. “The movement of lava flows and lava tubes, and all that happens where he can’t see it — you have to figure it out in order to help people be informed and safe. And he really cared about both those things.”

In the final years of his college education, Kauahi­kaua moved from Oahu to Hawaii island, where he began helping at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory until later securing a job there as a geophysicist for the U.S. Geological Survey.

“I learned a lot from Jim,” said Ken Hon, Kauahikaua’s close friend and HVO co-worker. “Jim was creative, he was inquisitive and he was somebody that people would follow. He was always one of the hardest-working people, and he loved what he did.”

In his work, Kauahikaua focused on using electrical geophysics and magnetic field and gravity variations to study Hawaii’s volcanoes and lava flows, according to a news release.

Aside from being an outstanding and innovative leader in his field, Hon said Kauahikaua contributed significantly to the understanding of Hawaii volcanoes, and helped move HVO into the modern digital age of volcano monitoring before other U.S. volcano territories had.

Kauahikaua also played an integral role in connecting Native Hawaiian culture to science in a way that the Native community could appreciate, Hon said. Kauahikaua also enabled Hon to view and connect to the science they studied in a cultural sense, he said.

Kauahikaua would also look into Native Hawaiian chants about lava flows and interpret the knowledge embedded in them, said his daughter, Lilinoe Kauahikaua.

“He talked a lot about having this reverence for Pele and for lava in general, because as you’re out there, it’s very clear that there’s something greater than you out there,” Lilinoe said.

His work inspired many, who Lilinoe said have shared their stories on how Kauahi­kaua helped them along their own academic or career-­related science fields. As the first Native Hawaiian to become scientist-in-charge at HVO, Lilinoe also said that her father increased representation for Native Hawaiians in the science field.

Kauahikaua also authored the book “Volcano: Creation in Motion (2004)” in partnership with photographer Brad G. Lewis.

He was a survivor of nasopharyngeal cancer; however, treatment for the disease led to health complications, including the loss of his voice and nearly complete hearing loss, Gertz said.

“Music was such a part of our lives,” she said. “I know that he was so sad that he could no longer hear music.”

Kauahikaua served as scientist-in-charge at HVO from 2004 to 2015 and continued to work there up until his death.

In the final days of his life, his family remained by his side. There, both Lilinoe and Gertz sat on either side of the bed where he lay and sang him an oli that Lilinoe had written for him. Gertz described the moment as both “beautiful” and “haunting.”

While both Gertz and Lilinoe described Kauahikaua as a role model for youths in the science field, they emphasized his modesty, selflessness and outstanding passion for his work.

“People trusted him so much in the community because he always gave calm, reliable information about this thing he was so passionate about: the workings of volcanoes,” Gertz said. “Everyone loved him because he was just there to share.”

Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.