OHA Chair issues condolences on passing of former Trustee Oswald Stender

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board Chair, Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey issued condolences on the passing of former OHA Trustee Oswald “Oz” Stender.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the ‘ohana of Oswald ‘Oz’ Stender on the loss of their beloved patriarch. He served with distinction as a Trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for 14 years from 2000 to 2014. He will be remembered as a kanaka that led with courage and was guided by deep aloha for our people,” said Lindsey.

Stender retired from from his post as OHA Trustee in November of 2014.

In 2019, House Resolution 218, honored Stender for a lifetime of dedicated service to the Native Hawaiian community.

According to the document, he was born in 1931 in Hau‘ula, Hawaiʻi and received a scholarship to Kamehameha School for Boys, where he met his wife, Ku‘ulei Sequeira, and graduated in 1950.

He served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1954 as a Marine in the US Marine Corps. Stender began his career as an assistant property manager at the Estate of James Campbell after receiving a BA in Business from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1958.

The House Resolution notes that Stender honed his expertise in land management and investment by shaping the development of Kapolei as the CEO of the Estate of James Campbell from 1976 to 1988, and Senior Advisor to the trustees from 1988 to 1990.

From 1990 to 1999, he served as a trustee of Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, and later worked in commercial and residential real estate with American Land Company.

The House Resolution further states that Stender, “continued to support his native Hawaiian roots through such efforts as co-founding a Hawaiian language immersion school on Kaua‘i and helping to produce Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole’s second solo album; and… his humble, hard-working, and forthright nature, coupled with his experience with charitable trusts, won Oswald Stender a Trustee seat at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs from 2000 until his retirement in 2014.”

H.R. 218 noted: “Throughout his career, Oswald Stender has volunteered his time and energy as a chair, trustee, or board member of various local entities, including, but not limited to, the Abigail Kawānanakoa Foundation, Aloha United Way, Awaiaulu, Inc., Cash Assets Trust, East-West Center Foundation, Friends of ʻIolani Palace, Grace Pacific, Hawaiʻi Community Reinvestment Corp., Hawaiʻi Employers Council, Hawaiʻi Tax Free Trust, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Helping Hands Hawaiʻi, Kahi Mohala (Sutter Health Pacific), Kawaiahaʻo Church Advisory Board, Lanikai School Board, Liliʻuokalani Trust Advisory Board, Mutual Housing Association, Pacific Capital Funds, Pacific Gateway Inc., Pacific Housing Alliance Association, and the Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi.”

Stender had been recognized by the community as the 1994 Hall of Honor awardee, 1998 Kalaniana‘ole Award nominee, 2003 Kama‘āina of the Year awardee, 2009 Honolulu Forever Young awardee, and the 2018 Native Hawaiian Advocate awardee.