Aloha, Kimo

Kimo Akane on ‘the board’. Nathalie Walker photo

What more can be said about a man everyone loved and respected? That man was Kimo Akane, and it seems we can’t say enough.

Kimo passed just before New Year’s Day and it has left those of us who knew him feeling the loss of a genuinely kind man. Naturally, there has been an outpouring of sympathy from the radio community, as he played a big part in the shaping of local music and radio personalities we listen to today. We join them in the mourning of this great friend.

MidWeek readers knew Kimo for something entirely different. His column, “Kimo’s Vegas,” was one of our most popular features. If Las Vegas is considered the ninth Hawaiian island, then Kimo was its mayor. He had inside knowledge of this favorite destination and the many ways our residents are connected to it.

This past Christmas Eve, Kimo’s family allowed me to visit him at the hospital. I stood bedside with his beloved wife of 38 years, Ellen. She shared with me that the last thing Kimo did before being rushed to the hospital was to file his column for MidWeek. It was to be his last – for the Dec. 25, 2013, issue.

We will miss Kimo and extend our condolences to Ellen, their children and grandchildren. Here is a photo of Kimo taken by our chief photographer Nathalie Walker. It was among those we ran for a MidWeek cover story on Kimo in 2005, the first year he started writing his column for us. I understand it is one of Ellen’s favorites.

rnagasawa@midweek.com