Paul Tatsuo Hamada

Paul Tatsuo Hamada, or as he is affectionately known to most of us as “Tabo”, was born on December 9, 1940, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He passed away peacefully on December 21, 2023 at the age of 83 at the Queens West Hospital not far from his home in Ewa Beach.

Tabo is survived by his beloved wife and soulmate Grace, his cherished daughter Shaylynn and his canine buddy Princess. He is also survived by his brothers Harold (Lucy) and Richard “Kibo” (Anita), sisters Nancy Ogino (the late Barney) and Janet Hirata (Eddie) and members of the Hamada and Fujii families.

Tabo was predeceased by his parents Kihachi and Tsuruyo Hamada and brother Bruce (the late Ruby). Tabo always had a smile on his face, a story to share and a joke to tell. He enjoyed spending loud and lively time with family but also loved quiet time working alone in his garden. If you visited his home, chances were good that you’d catch him in the yard tending to his plants. The only way you could drag him away from the greenery was with food!

Tabo loved Las Vegas and could spend hours talking about the trips he and Grace (and later Shay when she turned 21) took to The Cal! He didn’t even need to hit the jackpot to have a good time. He was more than happy to hit the buffet at Main Street and bring omiyage home from the beef jerky stores on Fremont.

He might have monku-ed from time to time but Tabo enjoyed being the “sole employee” of Snacks Galore, the business run by Grace and Shay. He was the muscle, carrying tables and heavy bins full of energy bars, chex mix, gummies and other onolicious goodies. He always had the exact routine when it came to setting things up and once he was pau, he’d take his seat at the back of the booth or tent to “supervise”.

Tabo began to sell his own creations too, making homemade dust pans with old shoyu or oil cans. He was not satisfied with the normal colors one would expect but would paint them in a rainbow of bright colors from fluorescent pink to metallic black. They were very hot commodities and would sell out quickly, often to repeat customers. He could have had his own infomercial as he would happily share his creative process to potential purchasers. People would share how nostalgic the dust pans were, reminding them of their grandparents’ gardens of long ago. Just as Grace is known as “The Energy Bar Lady” and Shay as “The Gummy Girl”, Tabo soon earned the nickname “Dustpan Man”.

Tabo’s Celebration of Life will be on Monday, January 15, 2023 (Dr, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday) at the Mauka Chapel at Borthwick Mortuary in Downtown Honolulu with visitation at 10:30 am and service starting at 11:30 am. His Inurnment will follow on the same day at the Hawaii Memorial Park Cemetery in Kaneohe at 3:00 pm. Everyone is invited to join the family at both venues to share their memories of Tabo.