DON HO
Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13th 1930 – April 14th 2007)

Don Ho was Hawaii’s Ambassador of Aloha to the world. A favorite son of Hawaii, he brought people together with his charismatic personality, Hawaiian values and music. Born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako on August 13, 1930, he was one of nine children blessed with a mixed ethnic heritage that encompassed the Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and German cultures. He was a high school football star by the time he left the state to study at Springfield College in Massachusetts. Chronic homesickness had him returning to his beloved island by year's end. Attending the University of Hawaii in 1954, he earned a BA in sociology, then served with the Air Force as a fighter pilot and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in 1959. His parents owned a cocktail lounge, Honey's, in Honolulu and Don formed a small band to entertain the customers. The place started booming with business and the rest is history.

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