Lisa Noelani Robbins

It is with immeasurable heartbreak that we announce the sudden passing of Lisa Noelani Robbins: mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, kumu, proud Kanaka ‘Ōiwi and mana wahine. Lisa is survived by her five children, her hiapo Makanamai Okalanimai Summer Joy Benitez-Fiame (33) and husband Cesar, Mahinaokalani Grace Robbins (30) and partner Heather, Kamehanaokalā Hope Robbins (26), Kekaimalu Charles Robbins (21), and her muliloa Kealani Rose Robbins (19). She is also survived by her husband and love of her life Lance William Robbins, her grandson Amado Kekoaokekaimana Benitez-Fiame (6), both of her parents Arlene Cora Tam-Hoy and Harold Man Fong Tam-Hoy, her twin sister Lana Ululani Robbins and husband Brett, her older brother Charles Harold Keliʻi Tam-Hoy and partner Lola and their children Lance (grandchildren: Blake & Logan), Lane, & Lorene, her younger brother Bruce Aukai Tam-Hoy and wife Wanda and their children Lacey (Bella, Bailey, Maverick) and Tawnie (Dominic), and her best friend and hula sister Jennifer Chaine Folayan.

Lisa was born in Honolulu, HI on May 4, 1967, and spent the first 19 years of her life with her ‘ohana on Oʻahu and Moku o Keawe (the Big Island). Her mother is a bank teller and was once a competitive hula dancer and was her first kumu hula, and her father is an entrepreneur. She inherited her father’s business acumen and her mother’s love for hula and mele, as well as her parents’ passion for finance and math. She loved spending summers with her siblings and her tutu Dorothy Leilani Moniz deSilva in Hilo, HI. Her tutu was a master lei maker, seamstress, crocheter, Hawaiian quilter, and manaleo who taught her and her siblings aloha ‘āina during those Hilo summers.

An ‘ōlelo noʻeau that Lisa lived by was “Nānā i ke kumu” (Look to the source). Lisa’s source was Hilo and was core to who she was as a mana wahine. She will be laid to rest at the Homelani Cemetery in Hilo near her tutu.

Lisa graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1985. When Lisa was 19, she moved to Seattle, WA to pursue a college degree, where she met Lance with whom she fell in love, married, and started a family. She moved to the Hampton Roads region of VA with her family in 1998, where she raised her five children. In 2006, she proudly opened ‘Ohana Arts Studio where she graced Hampton Roads with her skills in hula, sewing, quilting, and aloha. Lisa also served as a Girl Scout Leader for over a decade. In 2014, she finished her college education and graduated from the William & Mary Raymond A. Mason School of Business where she majored in Finance. Since then, Lisa dedicated her time to help people become financially literate and independent. Lisa started the Charles & Dorothy deSilva Scholarship, a funding opportunity for haumana of the Big Island studying nursing/medicine, arts, Hawaiian culture, and/or automotive technology. She was also a loving pet mom of three dogs (Coco, Primo, Mataoka) and two recently passed on kitties (Whiteboy, Georgia), and a loving dog aunt (Bella Boo).

Lisa accomplished incredible things in her life. She was a kumu hula, cultural practitioner, Hawaiian quilter, sewing teacher, activist, entrepreneur, financial sustainability advocate, a Christian who practiced what she preached, and perpetual dreamer. Lisa’s legacy is one of advocacy. She championed civil rights and liberties of Kānaka ʻŌiwi, wāhine, māhū/LGBTQ+, pōpolo, immigrants, and Indigenous people, and had a passion for rescuing animals. To honor Lisa’s legacy, we ask that you donate to an advocacy group of your choosing in her memory.

Lisa was proud to be Kānaka ‘Ōiwi. She wanted everyone to be proud of who they are and live unapologetically. As she always said: “Never let anyone dull your sparkle.”

Please contact her daughter [email protected] for more information about her memorial services.