James "Jimmy" Kehaulani Wong, 79, of He'eia, O'ahu, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family at home, on July 4, 2022. He was the third child of Paul and Marcellina (Chang) Wong's four children.He is survived by his loving wife of 51 years, Beverly; his daughters, Dana and Noelle (David) Chun, and five grandchildren: Stephanie, Aris, Dustin, Daelia, and Kiralynn. He is predeceased by his sons, Doug and Dennis.
Jimmy was a visionary, an educator, a motivator, and an innovator. He was passionate about inspiring through education, more recently about the political history of Hawai'i.
Jimmy was a graduate of Saint Ann ('57), Maryknoll ('61), and the UH Manoa ('71 and '74), where he earned his bachelor's and master's degree in Education. He also earned Basic and Professional Teacher's Certificates and did graduate work at UCLA towards a Ph.D.
After his work as a minority researcher, Jimmy was elected as the State Representative for the 24th ('80) and 16th ('86) districts, and was appointed to serve as the State Senator for the 8th district ('87). He worked at Hawaiian Airlines, for the Honolulu Fire Department ('65 to '70), and at James B. Castle High School ('71 to '80) as a Secondary Teacher of English and coach (basketball and track). He also coached the Chaminade University basketball team ('75 to '76).
In 2008, Jimmy retired from a 10+ year career at FedEx Freight after enjoying a long and prosperous career in the freight/transportation industry.
A Memorial Service is scheduled for Friday, August 26, 2022, at
St. Ann Church in He'eia. Visitation at 9:00 a.m. Service at 10:30 a.m. Our family kindly requests a face mask be worn during visitation.
