Mario James Valdastri Jr.

Mario was an alum of Punahou School, Honolulu, HI, Class of ’45. He was a great athlete and played football at San Jose State, CA, where he met and married the lovely Trisha Moore in 1948. The newlyweds returned to Hawaii and the following year were blessed to welcome their daughter Kathleen and later son Jimmy into their growing family.

Mario was the Athletic Director/Football Coach/English Teacher at St. Louis High School and told vivid play-by-play stories of the incredibly close ILH Championship Game he coached against his alma mater Punahou in 1953. Mario then joined his father’s business, which became Valdastri and Son.

Mario and wife Trisha traveled around the world in 1956 with many amazing stories to share, including kissing the Blarney Stone, lavish lunches with relatives in Italy, escaping an impending invasion in Beirut, watching hundreds bathe in the Ganges River in New Delhi, and culminating in a memorable attendance of the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.

Over the years, the business grew along with the growth of Hawaii from Territory to State. Valdastri, Ltd. did the precast and/or cast stone for many Honolulu buildings including the Bank of Hawaii Waikiki, Hawaii State Capitol, Arizona Memorial, Pacific Trade Center, Honolulu International Airport Diamond Head Gull Wings, St. Andrew’s Cathedral extension, the Gold Bond Building, to name a few. Mario was pleased that daughter Kathleen Zehner joined the business in 1971.

In 1975, as President of Valdastri Ltd., Mario arranged for his retired father to return from Italy one last time to work on the Iolani Palace Restoration, specifically the ornate plaster ceilings in the royal bedchambers. Son-in-law Bob Zehner worked closely with Mario Valdastri Sr. on the project. The company eventually became Valdastri & Zehner, Inc.

Mario was a member of the Oahu Country Club, the Kaneohe Yacht Club, Pearl Harbor Rotary and President of CCPI. He was an accomplished skin diver and water skier, scratch golfer, wrestling coach and football coach.

In 2003, Mario and Trisha sold the family home and moved to Oklahoma City to be with daughter Kathi and son-in-law Bob. After 8 sunny happy years in Oklahoma City, the tight-knit foursome moved back to Washington state. Mario and Trisha loved the Pacific Northwest and adored their family, especially their two grandchildren Tobias Zehner and Jennifer (Zehner) Bogdan. He and Trisha were very happy to see their family grow and thrive in Washington and to be near Trisha’s extended family as well. In his final years, Mario had nicknames for all of his great-grandchildren and was always upbeat and encouraging, despite missing his lovely wife Trisha.

He had a long and wonderful life and will be greatly missed.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Mario and Joseppina Valdastri, Sr., sisters Peggy and Francesca Valdastri, his beloved wife, Patricia Anne Valdastri and his son, James Patrick Valdastri. He is survived by daughter Kathleen Zehner and husband Robert Zehner, grandson Tobias Zehner and partner Mandy Stone, granddaughter Jennifer (Zehner) Bogdan and husband David Bogdan, 2 great-grandsons, 4 great-granddaughters, 1 great-great- grandson and 4 ohana-great-grandchildren.