Rodney Etsuo Motonaga

Rodney Etsuo Motonaga was born in Hilo, Hawaii on November 8, 1950 to his parents Isami and Natsue Motonaga. He grew up in the rural plantation town of Hakalau with three older siblings, George, Bert and Marlene.

Being the youngest of four, Rod thrived from all the attention each one gave him, thus creating long lasting memories. George, his oldest brother, would drive him to judo classes and wait for him. Then Rod looked forward, with eager anticipation, to their Dairy Queen stop for ice cream cones afterwards. Bert helped Rod master algebra and science when he was home on college break. His tutoring paid off with Rod majoring in engineering in college. His sister Marlene was closest in age to Rod, so during his early years he often tagged along with her, as if inseparable. She remained in close contact with her brother through the years.

Rod attended Hakalau Elementary and Intermediate School, and graduated from Hilo High School in 1968. He was always disappointed in not being able to take ukulele lessons due to shuffling in grades from elementary to intermediate school, so in recent years he asked his children, Kim and Derek, to buy him one for his birthday. He requested they buy one for their mother, too, so they could learn together. Unfortunately, the lessons never happened due to aggressive progression and treatment of his cancer.

Rod majored in mechanical engineering and industrial engineering at the University of Washington, and also joined the Air Force ROTC program. Because it was post-Vietnam War when he graduated, Rod was required to serve only 90 days at McChord Air Force base in Tacoma, WA. After fulfilling his Air Force commitment, he was hired by Boeing. He worked for Boeing in various capacities for 35 years. He also took advantage of Boeing paid tuition and earned his MBA degree from Seattle University in 1980. Then Rod worked his way up into Boeing management.

Rod met Laurene in the summer of 1970 at the UW. Those were fun carefree years sharing good times with college friends. Their friendship blossomed into marriage on June 28, 1975.

On October 10, 1979 they welcomed their first child, daughter Kimberly. She was the apple of his eye, even feeling confident enough to take her shopping occasionally as an infant, probably just to show her off. Almost three years later, July 18, 1982, his son Derek was born. Rod was so happy to have both a son and a daughter. They were happy contented children, just like their father. He really enjoyed attending their various activities through the years. He helped and watched, sometimes in amazement, his children grow and blossom into educated responsible adults.

Rod was multi-talented and perfected so many skills. He was very adept at building and repairing things. His home was, and still is, in continuous remodeling mode. He was so meticulous, detailed oriented and a perfectionist.

He cultivated his many interests into hobbies. He collected rocks, seashells, coins, stamps, butterflies, and knickknacks. About twenty-five years ago, Rod's interest in non-sports cards turned into a serious hobby. Before the age of the internet, Derek remembers traveling with his father and attending non-sports card conventions for hours at a time. The hobby then evolved into a small home mail order business, with inventory taking over his house, garage, and storage units. His business brought him great pleasure and wonderful relationships with his customers.

Rod had a passion for being outdoors. He enjoyed working in his numerous gardens for hours at a time, even using a headlamp after sunset. He also cultivated plants inside his home. With his green thumb, the plants have multiplied and appear artificial because they are so healthy and perfect. In fact, Kim recently watered the one artificial orchid plant that is nestled among all the live plants on a large table.

Rod enjoyed traveling. Thanks to Boeing business trips to several parts of the world, he was able to do considerable sightseeing. He especially enjoyed trips with Laurene to national parks and taking numerous photos of nature's wonders up in the mountains, in forests or fields of flowers, and on the beaches or down in the canyons. He enjoyed looking at the stars and moon. Thanks to Kim's offer to drive, he was especially thrilled to be able to witness the total solar eclipse in Madras, OR on August 21st.

Rod also loved music. His numerous collection of CDs and LPs speak for themselves. He enjoyed oldies but goodies, Hawaiian music and Christmas music, just to name a few.

Christmas was special to Rod. He would happily browse and shop for bargains during the year to give away as gifts during the Christmas season. He also played Christmas carols throughout the year!

This past summer despite his badly swollen leg and temperatures in the 90s, he still felt strong enough to re-roof the storage shed (the size of a small cabin) with Kim and Derek. However, in very recent months realizing that his health wasn't improving, Rod finally began asking them to help with many more projects around the house. He guided and coached them every step of the way.

Other family members and friends helped during this challenging time, too. Rod and his family appreciated this so much. Everyone, including Rod, hoped he would get better. He had so many projects he wanted to finish and tried so hard to remain independent. He even ordered more non-sports cards for his home business less than two weeks before he passed!

Rod never complained or expressed self-pity and remained optimistic to the very end. After 8½ years Rod lost the battle, but he is free of pain and his spirit is resting peacefully with God. We love him and miss him dearly. We have to bid him farewell for now. Rod will always be with us in our hearts and remembered for his kind and gentle spirit.