John Awong III

John Awong III was born in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi to the late John Awong Jr. and the late Beatrice Leinaʻala Kalaiwaʻa on December 7, 1955. He spent most of his youth in Ma’ili, Hawai’I where he played baseball, paddled canoe, and surfed with family and friends. He attended Maʻili Elementary, Waiʻanae Intermediate, Waiʻanae High School and Saint Louis School. He was a very proud graduate of the Class of 1973 from Saint Louis.

John joined the U. S. Army right after graduation and left for bootcamp at Fort Ord, California. He did his advanced training at Fort Polk, Louisiana and spent most of his military career in Erlangen, Germany. When he wasn’t on duty, you could find him playing music with the other Hawaiians he met stationed there.

In 1976, he returned home and joined the Federal Fire Department. He retired in 2012 after 36 years of service. During his years in the FFD, he worked several part-time jobs, including being a CDL driver for Otani Produce and Polynesian Adventure Tours as well as a Supervisor at Matson. He also worked at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse Center, Waikele, as a Sales Associate. His last part-time job was at Leilehua Golf Course in Grounds Maintenance. After retirement, he ended up working there full time. It was a perfect job for him, since he loved golfing!

John was married to his honey, Catherine (Cat) Todd, on May 22, 1977. Together they had four children, Shaunalei Kauinohea Awong, Ioane Kalanialiʻi Awong, Kaliko Makananokalani Awong, and Kalau Kahuhipaokalani Awong. They lived in Wahiawā, Kāneʻohe, Red Hill and Kaʻimuki before settling in Mililani in 1993. Sadly, Shaunalei passed away in 2023.

John and Cat were blessed with grandchildren: Emily, LeilaAnn, Logan, Jake, Maya, Haley, Zoe, Zayne, Zayden, and Solomon. In July, our family will be adding one more grandchild to this list of blessings!

John is survived by his “Moms” Aileen “Rocky” Gaza and Rosie Awong, his stepfather, Papa Randy, his siblings Henry and Carlyle Awong, Rick, Rebel and Herman Awana, Lovey Awaya and Charlotte Caballero as well as stepsiblings Guy Gaza, Garth and Gehrig Stone, and Ginger Memott. He was predeceased by siblings Kuanane, Kaipo and Johnelle Awong. John loved to travel, and he thoroughly enjoyed family vacations to places like Disneyland and Disney World, going on cruises with Cat and short staycations here in Hawaii. He also loved his Vegas trips with his St. Louis brothers for reunions. He always looked forward to those!

John was a diehard Minnesota Vikings fan! No matter how poorly they did, he always had faith in them! Two of his favorite trips involved the Vikings! He made plans to go to Minnesota with Shaunalei in early 2018 with so much faith that they were going to be in that Super Bowl! The Vikes blew it in the playoffs again that year! John and Shauna still went to Minnesota and had a blast! In December of 2023, he and Ioane went to Vegas to watch the Vikings-Raiders game! He was so happy when they won, even though the Vikings beat the Raiders 3-0 in the lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years!

God called John home on January 24, 2025. He had been ill and was fighting it to the best of his ability. God had other plans. He is resting now in perfect peace, love and joy with Shaunalei and the rest of his family and friends who have gone before him. We celebrate his life and accomplishments. We miss him but know that we will see him again!