Will Kyselka, a professor who helped tutor Hokule‘a navigator Nainoa Thompson about the stars and who later sailed on the double-hulled voyaging canoe, died July 1 in Kaneohe. He was 91.
Kyselka was a geologist, author and retired associate professor from the University of Hawaii Curriculum Research and Development Group.
Kyselka had a love for astronomy which led him to become heavily involved in the Polynesian navigation movement and a member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Three of his books covered ocean navigation and the night sky.
As the director and lecturer at the Bishop Museum Planetarium for 25 years, Kyselka, using the planetarium dome, spent many hours teaching Nainoa Thompson about the night sky as Thompson prepared for the voyage between Hawaii and Tahiti on the traditional Hawaiian double-hulled canoe Hokule‘a.
Kyselka integrated science and technology into Thompson’s studies, which complemented the cultural and historical teachings of the ocean that Thompson received from Micronesian navigator Mau Piailug.
"When I considered the dangers involved in sailing to Tahiti without modern instruments, I often thought it would be impossible. Will’s calming, committed friendship helped me get through those difficult times. He wasn’t just an astronomer teaching me about the stars. His lessons were about friendship," Thompson said in a blog.
A longtime friend, Janice Nuckols, said, "Will was a true mentor to Nainoa, and the student-teacher relationship they shared was an incredible one. He was a great teacher because he made his students, like Nainoa, work for the answer; there was never a freebie."
Kyselka sailed on the escort vessel, Ishka, for the Hokule‘a during the 1980 voyage to Tahiti, communicating information on the canoe’s position back to Honolulu. He was also aboard the Hokule‘a during part of the 1985-1987 Voyage of Rediscovery, a trip that took the Hokule‘a and 10 different crews throughout Polynesia covering 16,000 nautical miles.
Born in Detroit, Kyselka earned a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Olivet College and a Master of Arts in education from the University of Michigan.
After serving in the Navy during World War II, he settled in Hawaii and began teaching at UH Lab School and then the university. During that time, Nuckols said, Kyselka met his wife of 44 years, Leila Elizabeth "Lee" Kyselka.
They lived in a home they built together on Tantalus, but last year both moved to Pohai Nani, a senior living center in Kaneohe.
"Will spent every day, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with Lee, never leaving her side until she passed on May 10," Nuckols said.
A funeral service for Lee Kyselka was held June 29, and Will Kyselka died two days later.
"He held on for her, and although they’re both gone, it’s OK because they built a wonderful life together and it truly was a love story until the end," she said.
Kyselka is survived by stepson Jim Denbeste of Salem, Ore.; six step-grandchildren; eight step-great-grandchildren; and one nephew.
A celebration of life will take place at 5 p.m. July 27 at Church of the Crossroads, with visitation at 4:30 p.m. A previous version of this story listed an incorrect service time.
