Robin Campbell Bond Sr.

Born in Delaware on August 9 1941, Robin was the son of Richard and Jan (Schuck) Bond. In the fall of 1949, Robin moved with his family to Hawai’i where they hoped to start a soap factory. Given the gift of being able to easily “talk story,” a young Robin gathered groups of good friends in middle and high school, many of whom he has enjoyed boating and fishing with for decades. After high school, Robin enlisted in the Army National Guard, where he earned the rank of Sergeant and then married his college sweetheart and perfect match, Cynthia “Cindy” Moore. They welcomed daughter Liana and son Robin Jr. over the next few years.

After earning degrees at UH Manoa, Hawaii Pacific University and Chaminade University, Robin joined the Hawaiian Telephone Company as an accounting supervisor, working until he retired in 1982. After briefly co-owning a landscaping company, he joined the Honolulu Parks and Recreation Department. Robin managed the maintenance and safety of dozens of local parks and beaches, earning the honor of City and County Employee of the Year in 1991 for his dedication to beautiful, safe recreational experiences for Hawai’i’s residents and visitors.

Through his work at the Parks and Recreation Department, Robin was connected to one of the most meaningful and impactful projects of his career: his role in the transformation of Hanauma Bay.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, popular East Honolulu attraction and nature preserve Hanauma Bay was being loved almost to extinction. Regularly hosting 7000 to 9000 visitors a day, the reef was being damaged, the tropical fish were being driven out and the grounds were being trampled. In 1990, the City of Honolulu recruited Robin and Cindy as a team to transform Hanauma Bay into a place that both educated its visitors about responsible stewardship of the bay and promoted itself as a model of a robust, healthy ecosystem. Cindy tackled the neighborhood side of the project, holding over 100 meetings with concerned residents to promote buy-in and trust within the local community. Robin advocated for the health and safety of the bay and its fragile reef environment, saying its survival necessitated new restrictions on attendance and a mandatory closure one day each week for cleaning and rest. This was a truly ambitious but critically important proposal and one that was hard-won by Robin. To this day, the bay stands as a success story of ecological activism and community appreciation and support. After the transformation of the bay, Robin stayed on as President of Friends of Hanauma Bay for years and twice had the honor of taking President Obama, his family and staff diving at the bay.

It wasn’t surprising that Robin was selected to keep the President safe while swimming at Hanauma Bay. For decades, he had established himself as a respected and experienced Waterman. From his younger days as a body surfer at Makapu’u beach– assisting in water rescues long before lifeguards were established there– to his 18 years as the leader of the Hawai’i Ocean Safety Team (HOST), his ever-present goal was a safe experience for everyone ON the water and everything IN the water. A born teacher, he spent years educating young students how to spot and safely rid Hawai’i’s beaches of garbage and debris while hosting large organized beach cleanups with the group “Get the Drift and Bag It.”

Personally, Robin was someone who connected and supported the people in his inner circle as well as everyone in the wider community. Whether biking the roads of Kalanianaole or beach combing at Waimanalo, he would always keep a sharp eye out for “treasures.” Sometimes they were random, discarded tools that would find a new home in his ever-expanding shop in the garage. Often though, Robin would discover cherished lost pieces of jewelry or important documents. One of his favorite things to do was to find a treasure and then hunt for the long-lost owner. He would search tiny pieces of jewelry for inscriptions, then research ways to track down the person who lost it. He once returned a Hawaiian bracelet to a woman who had lost it more than 30 years prior. Another time, he returned a lost briefcase containing irreplaceable documents to a very grateful attorney.

It’s no coincidence that Robin spent his final days at a center within the “Good Samaritan Network.” At the very end of his remarkable life, there were many kind strangers coming together to care for Robin and his family, the way he had always cared for them.

Robin Bond was a truly good man, an honest and courageous advocate for the environment, a charismatic and kind person and a menace to nabeta and he’e.

Robin will be forever loved and missed by his daughter Liana (Steve) Cosgrove, son Robin Jr., grandson Robbie Bond, granddaughters Morgan and Phoebe Cosgrove, big sister Jeanie Stowe, brothers-in-law Puna Nam and Rod Moore, sisters-in-law Gini Moore and Lil Moore, many delightful nieces and nephews and countless dear friends.

His next adventure will reunite him with his wife and the love of his life Cindy, his mother and father, sister Bonnie Nam, brother Rick Bond and many dear friends who have gone before him.

Aloha no, Dad-o. Mahalo nui loa and rest easy.

Please join us for a Celebration of Robin’s Life on Saturday, April 17, 2027 12-3pm at the Shriners Beach Club in Waimanalo.