Paul Harada, a Kalaupapa resident for 62 years and a pillar of the Catholic community there, died on Jan. 4 in Kalaupapa with his wife Winnie by his side. He was 81.

Paul was born Aug. 7, 1926, on Kauai where his father was a rice farmer. After contracting Hansen’s disease as a teenager, he was sent to a hospital in Kalihi on Oahu, where he met the Maryknoll Sisters who taught school and catechism at nearby St. Anthony Church. The sister’s influence caused the young Buddhist boy to become a Catholic.

He was sent to Kalaupapa in 1945. There he served as a police officer and later as sheriff. Always cheerful, optimistic, sociable and helpful, Harada was an exceptional fisherman and gardener and kept up those activities until he became ill this past year.

He and Winnie Marks were married in 1955 and are one of only a handful of Kalaupapa couples who have celebrated a 50th anniversary.

Harada had been ill much of the past year and spent most of his time on Oahu where treatment was available. He told his wife on Jan. 3 that it was time to go home. Thanks to a reservation cancellation, they were able to secure seats on a flight out that day.

His funeral and burial was Jan. 5. The funeral Mass was at Kalaupapa’s St. Francis Church to which he was so devoted.