About PaPaw

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Born in a small town called Jonesboro, Arkansas, around 70 miles from Memphis,Tennessee, Ralph was the oldest of five siblings, with a younger brother and three younger sisters. 

Like many growing up in the late 1950s and 1960s, one either went to work in a factory, went to college or into the military. Ralph decided on the military and joined the Marines. He came from a military family: four uncles, his father,  several cousins, his only brother and a sister all served. 


Ralph spent nine years on active duty. And, met a girlfriend when he was stationed in Honolulu.  She was a local Hawaiian, born on Oʻahu, and wanted Ralph to leave the military, move to Maui, and take a chance on opening a business in Lahaina, just as tourism began to boom. When his tour was up, he did just that:  he opened an old-fashioned photography shop in the Wharf on Front Street of Lahaina. Eventually, the photography shop was sold off, and at age 31, it was a new chapter.

He eventually became the General Manager for six retail stores in Lahaina 

Ralph then met his future wife, Sandra, affectionately known as Lola. After dating for four months, they got married, and 44 years later are just as happy as the day they met. 

Ralph was very involved in his children’s activities as they grew, and he served as PTA President, for Kamehameha III,  President for princess school, state vice president for legislative services(we took kids to Washington DC to lobby For our causes.

They endearingly called him “PaPaw”

As always, life progressed. In August of 2023, PaPaw had been sick on-and-off for over five months, and despite several trips to the ER and dumbfounded diagnoses by doctors, he continued to fight. He was supposed to fly out the day after the August 2023 Lahaina fires for testing at a VA facility in Yuma, but life changed for everyone that day.

Since he was a disabled veteran, his oldest daughter, who lived in Yuma, Arizona, asked him to visit the VA Hospital there to try to find out any additional medical information.  Although he traveled by himself, his youngest daughter,  Courtney, who was on Maui with Lola, did a teleconference with the doctor who delivered the devastating news: Ralph had terminal cancer  and was given three to ten months to live. 

That was a year ago, and PaPaw continues “really fighting it”.  With excellent treatments, great staff, and loving support, he is “hoping to beat this for a few more years.”

When His dog Zoe passed away, his granddaughter, Makayla, was especially heartbroken.  He talked with her every night, about the joys and finalities of life for all of us. He decided it was important to write her a book - this book -  to remember Zoe, and eventually, Pawpaw.

As of September 2024, Pawpaw continues to fight cancer and bring us stories, joy, and love.