LOIS ABRAMS 85,
LONG-TIME OAHU REALTOR AND HONOLULU CIVIC FIGURE, PASSES Adopted Hawaiian; Wife of Developer Arnold “Arnie” Abrams Lois Jean Pfaff Abrams, long-time Oahu realtor, civic figure, and adopted Hawaiian who lived in Honolulu for 45 years, passed away on Monday evening, May 13th, at Queens Medical Center, in Honolulu. She died of conditions related to a brain blood clot for which she had surgery on April 21st, according to her only child, Eve Abrams, of Vancouver, B.C. Lois was 85 years old. Lois was a fixture in the Oahu realty industry, retiring in 2010 from nearly four decades of work as a residential real estate specialist, most recently with East Oahu Realty. She earned her broker’s license in 1973, and received many awards over the years for her sales expertise and for her tireless customer service. Lois moved to Honolulu in 1968 with her husband of 57 years, Arnold “Arnie” Abrams, a retired Air Force pilot serving with Pacific Command as a GS-14 Electronic Warfare Officer for Admiral McCain (John McCain’s father), Commander in Chief Pacific. When Arnie left Civil Service, the couple set about making Hawaii their permanent home, with Arnie developing numerous commercial real estate projects in the islands, and Lois eventually earning her residential real estate license. During this time, she and Arnie designed and built their residence, a modern split-level home in Koko Head, with a stunning view of Diamond Head and Maunalua Bay. A statuesque blonde, Lois, or “Lolo” as she was affectionately called, was almost never without her beloved “Ace,” Arnie, as they cut a dashing image across Honolulu and environs, often dining at Roy’s Hawaii Kai, Michel’s and other institutions of the city. Whether Hawaii restaurateurs, including Roy Yamaguchi, or local businesses, including Mountain Apple Records, there were few professionals in Oahu who did not know Lois. Her active political involvement and lust for life were renowned. Born in New York City in 1928, the third child of Frederic and Lydia Pfaff, Lois grew up in Great Neck, Long Island, where she graduated from Great Neck High School, and lived in the Kensington section of the tony New York suburb. She attended Bennington College, in Vermont, for two years, studying theater during the heyday of the prestigious college’s intellectual period. Her roommate was the renowned American abstract expressionist painter, Helen Frankenthaler, and her professors included Shirley Jackson, W. H. Auden, Peter Drucker, and Martha Graham. After leaving Bennington, Lois studied for a year in post-war Paris. She returned to the U.S. in 1947, where she worked at the United Nations, and later spent time in Hollywood as a model. Lois met Arnie while he was an active Air Force fighter pilot, and during the early years of their marriage they were stationed at Air Force bases in the Western U.S., eventually settling in the Bay Area. Lois, who lived most of her life in Honolulu, was a confirmed Kama’aina, even though, as a young woman, she had promised the members of her fourth-generation New York family that she would “never live more than 50 miles outside of New York City.” She is survived by, in addition to her husband and daughter, a granddaughter, Tess McKenna, and grandson, Kieran McKenna, both of Vancouver, B.C. Her ashes were scattered across Maunalua Bay on May 19, 2013.
- Denotes U.S. Military Veteran
