Gwendolyn Puanani Yuk Eap Murata's Obituary
Our most beloved mother and mother-in-law, tutu, aunty, friend, and beautiful wife to our father, Richard ("Dick") Murata, peacefully went home to Jesus on October 27, 2024, at home in Honolulu, with her family and caregiver by her side. She was blessed to have recently celebrated her 70th wedding anniversary and 93rd birthday.
Gwendolyn Puanani, born in Honolulu on September 18, 1931, to Walter and Nancy Holokai Lum, spent her childhood days frolicking in the tidepools at Waimanalo, surfing at Waikiki, bringing gardenias home from her favorite farm in Manoa Valley, spectating dog shows at Thomas Square, visiting her mother's family in Peahi, Maui, and making memories with her younger brother, "Sonny." As a young lady, Puanani enjoyed flying for Hawaiian Airlines as a "stewardess," and enchanted audiences as a hula dancer with Bill Lincoln.
After graduating from Hawaiian Mission Academy High School, Puanani left for college in California and on a trip home from college, met her lifelong love upon Matson Lines' legendary SS Lurline. She thereafter accompanied Dick back to South Bend, Indiana, where he was attending the University of Notre Dame, and where she would attend St. Mary's College, Notre Dame. Puanani and Dick later returned to Hawaii where they raised their two children, and where Puanani, before becoming a full-time tutu, spent many years teaching at St. Patrick's School and teaching English to foreign students.
Puanani impacted countless individuals' lives by teaching her students, ohana, and each of us the significance of maintaining high standards and values to navigate life successfully and meaningfully.
First and foremost a devoted family woman, she ingrained in us the importance of putting God first and always trusting in Him, and she exemplified this by how she lived her life. Our "beautiful flower" embodied her name, and aside from her love for God, and her family, and of the ocean, hula, and Hawaiian music, she was fond of flowers. Befittingly, she relished spending time at her country home in Kula, Maui, where she was surrounded by her flower garden, fruit trees, and the expansive view of the West Maui Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The truest representation of a lady, Puanani remained humble despite regularly being acknowledged by strangers, friends, and family for her striking beauty, elegance, grace, and strength of character.
Preceded ib eternal rest by her parents, her brother, and her son, Terry, Puanani will be forever and profoundly missed by her loving husband; daughter, Melissa; son-in-law, Robert Mash; granddaughter, Halia; ohana; and her friends. Her legacy will live on in the hearts of those whose lives she touched.
A private funeral Mass and celebration of Puanani's life are being held.
What’s your fondest memory of Gwendolyn?
What’s a lesson you learned from Gwendolyn?
Share a story where Gwendolyn's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Gwendolyn you’ll never forget.
How did Gwendolyn make you smile?