Dawn Aloha Kekoolani was received into the Blessed and Eternal Peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ at age 47 on May 25, 2011, having succumbed to complications from breast cancer. Dawn was well known for her lifelong efforts to preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture and traditions. She enjoyed educating children and young people, having pioneered several programs and developed curriculum at Honolulu Community College, Farrington High School and several Hawaiian charter schools. Dawn’s 20 years of research and study with leading Hawaiian thinkers and cultural practitioners culminated in her philosophy of Hawaiian spirituality, the tenets of which were set down in a book, “Na’au Poi: Spiritual Food for Cultural Enlightenment”.

Dawn’s mastery of hula, photography, and Hawaiian music were shaped by a long and happy collaboration with her beloved sister Patricia Malia “Kiki” Keko’olani, who passed away in 2009. Dawn is survived by her daughter Aesha Na’awapuhimelemele Ohelo; her mother Patricia Holt, her stepmother Annie Kekoolani, her brother Dean Pua Keko’olani and half-brother Nawai Keko’olani; three half-sisters, Celeste Leilani “Becky” Keko’olani, Deborah Thorn, Christina Gassoway as well as several nephews and nieces.

A private family service was held at Diamond Head Memorial Park at Honolulu, Hawaii on June 9, 2011. Friends and family wishing to visit her grave site and pay their respects may call Diamond Head Memorial Park for directions to her resting place.

Dawn Aloha’s last public performance at the wedding of her daughter Aesha Ohelo, December 2010