Honolulu Advertiser & Star Bulletin Obituaries January 1
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Honolulu Advertiser & Star Bulletin Obituaries January 1 – December 31, 1998 R Anna Katherine Kelly “Kathy” Raab, 75, of Honolulu, died Saturday Dec 26, 1998.She was born in Milwaukee. She is survived by daughters Elizabeth Mahelona, Patty Leahey and Chris Chun; son Richard Joseph Raab Jr., and eight grandchildren. Service: 5 p.m. Wednesday at Newman Center, University of Hawaii. Mass: 6 p.m. Casual attire. No flowers. Private scattering of ashes. William H. Rabacal, 72, of Aiea, a retired fire captain at Barber’s Point, died March 17, 1998 in Kaiser Hospital. He also retired from the city Elderly Affairs Division. He was born in Aiea. Survived by wife Verna M.; son Sean; daughters Annette Maeda, Jean Solidum and Sherri Rabacal; brothers Walter, Ray and Howard; sister Rose H. Nabarrete, five grandchildren and a great-grandson. Wake services: 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Mililani Mortuary-Waipio. Call after 5:30 p.m. Services: 11:30 a.m. Friday at the mortuary. Call after 10:30 a.m. Burial: Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery. Casual attire. No flowers. John P. Rabago, 76, of Mililani, a retired tractor trailer truck driver with the Pearl Harbor Naval Supply Center, died March 4, 1998 in Wahiawa General Hospital. He was born in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, the Philippines. He is survived by son John B. Jr.; daughter Diane Cayetano; brother Henry; sister Rosita Salud, and five grandchildren. Wake services: 7 p.m. Sunday at Mililani Mortuary-Waipio, mauka chapel. Call from 6 to 9 p.m. Mass: 11 a.m. Monday at St. John Apostle and Evangelist Church, 95-370 Kuahelani Ave. Call after 9:30 a.m. Burial: Mililani Memorial Park. Casual attire. No flowers. Juan Rabago, 88, of Wailea, Hakalau, Hawaii, a retired conveyor operator for the former Hakalau Plantation, died Saturday Mar 21, 1998 in Hilo Hospital. He was born in the Philippines. Survived by wife Philomina “Jo”; sons Ronald, Abraham, Jerry and David; daughters Loretta Debina and Lorraine Mendoza; 21 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and a great- great-grandchild. Wake services: 7 p.m. Friday at Dodo Mortuary. Call 6 to 9 p.m. Prayer services: 10 a.m. Saturday at the mortuary. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Alae Cemetery. Casual attire. No flowers Evangeline T. Rabena, 38, of Hilo, a former employee of Hilo Seaside Hotel, died June 5, 1998 in Ilocos Sur, the Philippines. She was born in the Philippines. She is survived by husband Nicanor; son Mark A.; daughter Kennely; brothers Ernesto and Zaldy Talania; and sisters Aida Talania, Josefina Serna and Corazon Gaspar. Burial: Tomorrow in the Philippines. Claro Rabot, 87, of Hilo, a laborer for the former Hilo Coast Processing Co., died April 19, 1998 in Hilo Hospital. Born in the Philippines, he is survived by son Claro Jr. and god-sister Sally Ignacio. Services: 2 p.m. Thursday at Dodo Mortuary. Call after 1 p.m. Burial: Alae Cemetery. Casual attire. Mario N. Racasa, 77, of Honolulu died Friday Oct 16, 1998 at Kuakini Medical Center. He was born in the Philippines. He is survived by wife Dolores; sons Genaro, Jose, Casiano and Amado; daughters Julita Libranda, Juanita Elma and Josefina Abaricia; grandchildren; and great-grandchildren. Mass: 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa. Call between 5 and 7 p.m. Wednesday. Juan L. Racpan, 93, of Honolulu, a retired laborer for a sugar plantation on Kauai, died March 7, 1998 in Kuakini Hospital. He was born in the Philippines. Survived by children Celestino and Edwardo Racpan, Florentina Gamatero and Chita Cesneros; sister Raymunda; brothers Arcenio, Francisco and Nemesio, 25 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. Wake services: 7 p.m. Friday at Mililani Downtown Mortuary. Call 6 to 9 p.m. Mass: 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa Church. Call after 8:30 a.m. Burial: Valley of the Temples. Casual attire. Dr. Theodore J. Radomski,65, of Kalaheo, Kauai, a psychiatrist, died Sunday Nov 1, 1998 at home. He was also a medical director of an alcohol and substance abuse program. Born in Redding, Pa., he is survived by wife Diana D.; his first wife; two stepdaughters; and a brother. Memorial services: 5 p.m. tomorrow at St. Michael and All Angels' Episcopal Church in Lihue. No flowers. Donations suggested to the Theodore J. Ramdomski, M.D. Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1749, Koloa, Hawaii 96756. Casual attire. Seiko K. Radona, 68, of Pearl City died Sunday Sep 13, 1998 at home. Born in Japan, she is survived by husband Pepito J., and brothers Tsune, Toshi and Kiyomi Kawamura. Services: noon Saturday at Pearl City Hongwanji Mission, 858 Second St. in Pearl City. Call after 11 a.m. Burial: Mililani Memorial Park. Casual attire. Patrick W. Rafael, 31, of Waipahu died Saturday Oct 17, 1998 in St. Francis Hospital. Born on Guam, he is survived by son Bryson T.; parents Florencio and Wilma; sisters Raquel W. and Florence W.; and grandparents Clifford and Dalisay Ward. Catholic prayer services: 10 a.m. Friday at Nuuanu Memorial Park Mortuary. Call 8:30 a.m.-noon. Graveside services: Hawaiian Memorial Park. Casual attire. Harold J. Ragland, 85, of Waikoloa, Hawaii, a retired professional golf director, died Thursday Oct 15, 1998 at home. He was also head pro at Laurance Rockefeller's Mauna Kea golf course on the Big Island. Born in Illinois, he is survived by son Ronald “Rags.” No services. Walter A. Ragsdale Jr., 62, of Honolulu, a retired police lieutenant and consultant to Molokai Ranch, died Tuesday Sep 29, 1998, in Queen's Hospital. He is survived by companion Carla L. Brede; sons Todd and Jody; daughters Patrice McCauley and Jeri; stepsons Chuck and Don Wilson; sisters Noelani delaCruz and Hiilani Henry; 10 grandchildren and one great- grandchild. Services: 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Borthwick Mortuary. Call after 6 p.m. Molokai service: 11 a.m. Oct. 17 at Kalaikamanuhou. Call after 9 a.m. Internment to follow at Kapaakea Cemetery. Aloha attire. Ponciano R. Raguindin, 87, of Kamiloloa, Molokai died June 24, 1998 in Molokai General Hospital. Born in Ilocos Sur, the Philippines, he is survived by wife Corozan, sons Ponciano Jr. and Alan, daughter Arlene, and brothers and sisters in the Philippines. Services held. Helen H. Rains, 72, of Honolulu died Saturday Nov 7, 1998. Born in Hilo, she is survived by husband Ivan, son Michael, daughter Lisa Akana, brother Richard Shimabukuro, sister Edna Matsuura and two grandchildren. Memorial services:5 p.m. Sunday at Nuuanu Mortuary. Call after 4 p.m. Harry E. Ralph, 93, of Honolulu died yesterday Nov 11, 1998. He was born in Sweden.Private services. Marjorie Elizabeth Ralston of Honolulu was the first voice of Minnie Mouse Rick Ralston remembers hearing his mom say in a high falsetto voice, “Hiya Mickey!” She died July 22, 1998 in Queen’s Hospital from osteoporosis complications at age 86. “She was always very shy about it,” said Rick Ralston, recalling his mother’s Minnie Mouse beginnings. Her love of art inspired Ralston to begin painting shirts, which evolved into Crazy Shirts Inc., one of the most successful T-shirt companies in Hawaii. Fresh out of high school in Los Angeles, Marjorie Ralston took a portfolio of her sketches to unknown animator Walt Disney in 1928 and became hired as his 13th employee. Called an inker, she colored in the illustrator’s shapes in an old Los Angeles garage that served as the first Disney studio. “I’m not sure we ever thought of it as an art form back there in the garage on Hyperion Boulevard,” Marjorie Ralston said in a 1971 interview with the Star-Bulletin. “We were the beginning. The animators, the artists, an office girl and Walt Disney. The rest of us idolized him.” As Disney walked around her desk one day talking like Mickey Mouse, she answered back like Minnie and became recruited to speak for the demure mouse. She only did one cartoon as Minnie and then begged out of it because of her shyness, Rick Ralston said. But she stayed on as an inker for almost 13 years before retiring to raise her two sons in L.A. People continued to ask her to talk like Minnie Mouse, but she bashfully declined saying, “I get stage fright.” But now and then she would talk like Minnie for her sons. Rick Ralston remembers growing up surrounded by Pinocchio cartoon cells on the walls of his bedroom. They were castaways from his mother’s job. “We used to laugh when we realized many years later, Mom could have brought home boxes of those Disney cartoon cells. Little did anyone know they’d be worth $1,000 each. We could have been set for life,” Ralston said. Times for the Ralstons weren’t all cartoons. Marjorie and Bradford Ralston divorced when Rick and his brother, Bob, were boys. Their mother struggled to raise them herself, working then as a licensed practical nurse. Stretched too thinly, Marjorie Ralston had a breakdown, Rick Ralston recalled. Neighbors contacted the Salvation Army to send food baskets to their house. Ralston came to Hawaii in 1962 and began painting T-shirts. He began Crazy Shirts in 1964, and his mother came to Hawaii in 1968. Bob Ralston, Rick’s brother, played with the Lawrence Welk band and enjoyed success as a musician. In honor of his mother’s roots, Ralston added Minnie, Mickey and Donald Duck’s original 1933 versions to his shirt designs in 1973. He presented the first Minnie Mouse shirt off the assembly line to his mom. In Hawaii, Marjorie Ralston spoke out on various issues through the years in letters to the editor of Honolulu newspapers.