The body of late state Sen. Gil Kahele is arriving home to the Big Island today, and the Kahele family is inviting East Hawaii community members to come pay their respects.
The body of late state Sen. Gil Kahele is arriving home to the Big Island today, and the Kahele family is inviting East Hawaii community members to come pay their respects.
The plane carrying Kahele’s body will touch down at 12:45 p.m. at Hilo International Airport and then pass through town via a 90-minute, police-escorted motorcade.
The procession will pass at least 16 locations and sites of which the senator was fond. Kahele’s family encourages the community to come see the motorcade as it makes its way.
Stops include:
• 1:10 p.m., Keaukaha Elementary School.
• 1:20 p.m., Richardson’s Ocean Park.
• 1:30 p.m., Banyan Drive.
• 1:40 p.m., County of Hawaii Building.
• 1:50 p.m., Hawaii County Fire Department Central Station.
• 2:05 p.m., Hilo High School.
• 2:10 p.m., Federal Building, U.S. Post Office and the courthouse in Hilo.
• 2:15 p.m., Dodo Mortuary.
Kahele died Jan. 26 after suffering a series of heart attacks. He was 73. He is being honored this morning in Honolulu via an eight-minute tribute as his motorcade passes the state Capitol.
The Kahele family also encourages the public to attend a celebration of life for the late senator Feb. 8. The event, titled “Evening of Aloha,” starts with visitation at 4 p.m. followed by services at 5 p.m. It will be hosted at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo.
Kahele’s celebration of life likely will draw a crowd from Honolulu. On Monday, Senate President Ronald Kouchi said in a memorandum to senators that Hawaiian Airlines added an additional flight Feb. 8 from Honolulu to Hilo. Kouchi encouraged lawmakers to make travel arrangements early and wear blue, though there’s no particular dress code for the event.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.