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Frank Francis Fasi August 27, 1920 to February 3, 2010 |
Home Eulogy Photos at City Hall Share Your Memories |
Frank Francis Fasi was born in Hartford, Connecticut on August 27th, 1920. He was the second to the youngest of six children borne to Carmello and Josephine Lupo Fasi who immigrated from Sicily, Italy. Growing up in the slums of Hartford, he endured poverty, hunger, racial, and religious discrimination. As a child, he collected coal on the train tracks and shined shoes for pennies. When he got a little older, he and his older brother sold newspapers on a street corner. He spent summers in the field picking tobacco and delivering heavy blocks of ice and he spent winters delivering firewood. The lessons he learned during those formative years helped shape the character of a man who would place integrity, compassion, and a “never give-up” attitude as the foundation of his life and later, to strengthen his resolve to become a voice for those whose voices were not heard and those in need. He never forgot that he once was, the “Little Guy”. Being blessed with a quick mind and a scrappy athleticism, and despite a learning disability and stutter, my Dad become a straight-A student at Weaver High School, he lettered in football, basketball, wrestling, and track. He was rewarded for his effort with an academic and athletic scholarship to attend Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He played football, basketball, and track and earned a Bachelors Degree in History, graduating with Honors, and as a member of the class of 1942. With the outbreak of World War II, like many 1st generation Americans, my father yearned to fight for his country. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corp and as a 1st Lieutenant, was immediately sent to a small island in the Pacific to take part in the invasion of Iwo Jima. On the night before being shipped out, his fellow officers worried about enemy bombers, so they slept outside the barracks. My Dad decided take his chances and remained inside. There was a bombing raid, but one of the few places not hit that night, was where my Dad slept. Because of that raid, the transport ship steamed by without him. He was disappointed, but my father later came to believe, that his purpose in life was yet to be revealed. He was promoted to the rank of Captain and eventually stationed on Kauai’i where he remained till the end of the war. After the war, he returned to the East Coast with a scholarship and the intention of entering Yale Law School but, really missed and loved Hawaii. My Mom said, “Dad was sitting in a movie theater and wondered why his feet were so cold and just wouldn’t get warm”. Whether it was “love” or just “cold feet”, he returned to Hawaii for good! Upon his return, he first worked with the Army Corps of Engineers. Shortly thereafter, at the age of 27, he started the “Frank F. Fasi Supply Company”. Initially, he dismantled military buildings for the lumber and sold Quonset Huts for housing, both of which were desperately needed in post-war Hawaii. Within a year, he had 40 employees and a successful business. He quickly became a leader in the business and civic communities, and his future in government service was inevitable. My father was involved in Hawaii politics for nearly 60 years. Few remember that his first campaign for Mayor was in 1952. He was elected as a Territorial Senator, Honolulu City Council member, and served as Mayor of Honolulu for a total of 22 years becoming the longest serving chief executive in Hawaii history. My Dad loved being Mayor and there was nothing he wouldn’t do, if it helped people or his beloved City – as we say, his 12th child. When a strike kept the grass in front of City Hall from being mowed, he cut it. When office trashcans weren’t emptied, he did it. When graffiti became a problem, he donned his coveralls, filled the Fasi Van with paint, and drove around town on weekends to beautify his city. He even used his own money to pay bus drivers to keep them from going on strike during the Christmas holidays. He was never one to say “can’t”, he’d instead, ask “how”, and we all know, once my Dad was convinced of something, in his own unique way, “Fasi got it done!” My Dad was a loving husband and devoted father. He had 11 children, 6 from my mother Joyce to whom he was married for 51 years. With so many kids and now with 20 grandkids, he guaranteed himself sign-holders for his Fasi Shaka signs. Ad-lib - And you know I just want to add, that while I’m in standing here, as young children, we all grew up in here. Running up and down the stairs, into the Mayor’s office, making trouble in the City Council, as Mayors’ children might do. My Pops was an avid bowler, a single digit handicap golfer, and loved to fish for Ulua in his younger days. He enjoyed woodworking and was always inventing things. And he collected any useful machinery or building material he found, all of which ended up at his Makiki home and after 40 years of collecting, it took two 40 foot Roll-Off’s to haul it all away. Pops had his own special style. He sported a mustache and even a goatee. He wore Italian boots and cowboy boots, suits with ties, and sport jackets with turtleneck shirts, white shorts and fishnet shirt with old brown shoes, white coveralls with “Mayor” printed on the back, and bedroom slippers while working in his wood shop. His keen sense of fashion will forever be imbedded in all of our memories. A man’s life can easily be summed up by his accomplishments and achievements, but the true measure of a man is often found in the simple acts of love and kindness, which touched the hearts and lives of the people he met along the winding road of his life. Many have shared their personal experiences of Frank Fasi with us and I’d like to share a few with you. In themselves, these stories are not more special than others, but I think they epitomize who my father was. Just recently, a neighbor related a story about his life-long friend and Frank Fasi. In the late 40’s, my Dad was in Waianae moving a Quonset Hut, and a young man with his wife and baby, walked up and asked, “eh, how much for the house?” My Dad, seeing that this man was obviously in hard times, simply said, “For you, it’s free”. The young man dropped to his knees in disbelief and he cried. A nurse who recently cared for my Dad, told me about her elderly friend, who enjoyed going to the Open Market at Fort Street Mall because, she knew that if she saw Frank Fasi, he would offer to carry her grocery bags. That made her so happy and she would tell everyone that “Mr. Mayor carried my bags today”. And, this letter published recently in the newspaper, which I’ve paraphrased. I hope you don’t mind Mr. Farr. “In August 1945, I was assigned for duty at Fort Armstrong to assist the Army Corps of Engineers. At the same time, a former Marine captain applied for and got a job with the engineers – Frank Fasi. Frank was a great influence in my life. He taught me never to think negatively and to always be on the positive side of life. And during the year we were together, he taught me to be honest and to always stand up for my beliefs. He always pursued anything that would make life better for people. I saw it all - in his actions. Some would say he was stubborn and bullheaded - yes, he was – but rightly so. I just wish there were more people like him in the world. Rest in peace Frank. I’m a much better person because a lot of you rubbed off on me”. Like a true Marine, my father never left anyone behind, even if that meant putting himself last. He gave far more than he received and he gave wholeheartedly, without reserve and without expectations. In his 89 years of life, we see that the love he gave has been returned to him one hundredfold. On behalf of the entire Fasi family, I want to thank our relatives and friends, all of our volunteers, everyone here today and watching on TV, those here in heart and spirit, and to all the thousands of people past and present who my father had the privilege to know. To all of you, we give our heartfelt Mahalo and Aloha for the love you have shown my father and for allowing him to be a part of your lives. And finally, for being such a big part of all of our lives and for sharing his life with us, I’d like to say, “Thank You Mr. Mayor”.
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