Joseph Kaaina Gomes Sr.

Joseph Kaaina Gomes Sr., born December 21, 1946, in Wahiawa, Hawaii.

Raised by Antone and Mary Gomes in Whitmore Village.

He graduated from Leilehua High School in 1964 and then attended Honolulu Community College soon after graduation. His trade was Welding, and he joined the Hawaii National Guard 29th Brigade. In Summer of 1967, met Yolanda Lizardo then 5 months later, they got married on December 23, 1967 – they have been married for 57 years.

Joseph got activated to Vietnam in May of 1969 while Yolanda was 5 months pregnant. On August 15, 1969, Joseph Jr. was born.

After returning from Vietnam, Joseph continued attending Honolulu Community college in Sheet Metal.

There was a lot of challenges during the years – but Joseph worked hard to provide for his family. He even worked for Dole Company during high school and after Vietnam. He even worked at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel as a bus boy (bus help). Then he

worked at Quality Sheet Metal until Pearl Harbor Shipyard had an open position. From there, he worked his way up until he became a supervisor.

While things were moving on in Jospeh’s life, he also have a daughter, Julie Ann, and two other sons, Jonathan and Jerrald. That made him become active in the community sports league. He was a coach and manager empire for Kaneohe Leagues. He also played baseball when Shop 17 had a team. Joseph was very athletic, and he plays golf, bowls, plays baseball, he shoots darts, horseshoes and he loves to play cards. He is not only athletic, but he also loves to sing and very crafty. Whenever there’s a project, everything must be measured in a perfect fit.

Joseph was a man with little words. He was humble and very akamai especially in sports, world history, card games and even religion. He loves doing crossword puzzle every single day starting at 4AM. He is a loving person and always made sure family came first.

One more thing, Joseph could tell a joke with a straight face, and you can’t even tell if it’s a joke or not. He will be missed, and he is now flying with angels.

Joseph is survived by his loving wife, Yolanda; 4 children – Joseph, Jr (Tracey), Julie Ann, Jonathan and Jerrald, 3 granddaughters, 1 great-grandson and 1 great-granddaughter.