Richard Dennis
Souther
04 Jan 1948 ~ 17 Sep 2012
Richard
Dennis Souther, 64, a resident of Honolulu for over 40 years, died of cancer on
September 17th in Sandwich, Massachusetts. He was predeceased by his father, Richard W.
Souther, and survived by his mother, Barbara (Valli) Souther, his siblings
Lawrence Souther of Eastham, Judith Taylor of Wellfleet, Kathy Souther of
Providencetown, and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Along with his uncle, Sherburne Valli of Honolulu,
he also leaves many good friends here in Hawai’i and on the Mainland.
He was born and raised in Massachusetts, joined the
Navy after graduation from high school and traveled to many parts of the
world. He was based mostly in Hawai’i
and fell in love with the beauty of the islands and the gracious, loving and
laid-back culture and personality of the people of Hawai’i. After being discharged, he
lived in Japan and Korea for a time but returned to Hawai’i and made it his
home.
He was employed by the State of Hawai’i as a Records
Administrator for the Department of Health and later worked for the Department
of Education. It was in Hawai’i that he
developed his passion for genealogy. He
spent years researching the Souther families that culminated in the 1996
publication, "The Souther Families of America.”
Richard conducted many classes and workshops in genealogy
in Hawai’i. Richard founded the Sandwich
Islands Genealogical Society (now the Honolulu County Genealogical Society) and
was a member of the Caledonian Society of Hawai’i, through which he shared his
extensive collection of Hawaiian genealogy at the Hawaiian Scottish Festival
for many years. He was also a member of
the New England Historic Genealogical Society,
the Quincy Historical Society, the National Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution, the Alden Kindred of America, Inc., and the General and
Massachusetts Societies of Mayflower Descendants. Richard was a volunteer librarian with the
Aloha Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution where he computerized
their entire collection. In addition,
Richard’s expertise was a major factor in the building of two extensive
genealogical databases, that of the “Thomas Rogers Society,” and “The Order for
the Crown of Charlemagne in the USA.” These and many other contributions to the
genealogical community will never be forgotten.
Richard’s love of the Hawai’i
was reflected in classes he taught on different styles of lei making at various
community schools on the islands. He
established his own Cultural and Arts Program, which featured notable speakers
and the works of celebrated native Hawaiian artists, cultural practitioners and
historians. For eight years he conducted
inter-island field trips that coincided with his classes, sharing with others
his knowledge of Hawaiian history and culture.
Richard was a member of
International City of Refuge Christian Church Ministries of Hawai’i.
He helped with the Men’s Ministry and always looked forward to
serving all members.
Mahalo, Richard, for your many
gifts. Your time here was too short but now you can rest in peace.
Refreshements for this meeting were brought by Linda DuBee - she made a special bread pudding and added strawberries.
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