“The best portion of a good man’s life – his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” ~William Wordsworth
Daryl Tokio Yamamoto
Today, September 7, 2012, is the day of the funeral for Daryl. I had planned to go, but honestly I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it. I was emotional while making my morning coffee and am completely losing it as I’m writing this so I may have to rethink my plan to attend. This would be the first funeral I’d be attending since Dave’s in 2006. Although Dave and Daryl hadn’t met…until a few days ago….there is still a connection and I think that’s what makes it even more difficult for me.
Although Daryl’s wife, Carol and my mom are St. Anthony High School classmates, I met Daryl through his daughter, Donna. She and I had met in the late 90’s when we were coworkers at Maui Electric and continued our friendship since then.
I don’t remember if it was the day Dave died or the day after that Donna came over to my house to offer her condolences. She also wanted to share an idea that she and her dad had for a memorial video for Dave. Her dad had retired from years of service as Maui County’s County Clerk and was doing some video production and editing as a hobby.
Donna asked if I could put together a set of photos of Dave that could be scanned and included in a memorial video that Daryl wanted to produce for us. I remember telling her there is no way I could find the strength to go searching for photos in the middle of this difficult time. She asked me to think about. I did and I’m so glad I changed my mind and decided to do it. It was not easy, but grieving isn’t easy and I believe putting together the photos helped me through the early grieving stages.
All of the materials, including handwritten notes from Dave’s family were handed off to Daryl and he took it from there. I’m sure he put many, many hours into producing the beautiful and touching memorial video for us. It was perfect.
Being at the mortuary for my husband’s funeral was very surreal and also very busy. So many things went through my head, making sure everything was in place and according to plan as well as could be in the rush of a week’s time putting it all together. In the middle of the stress and emotions, I remember Daryl and Carol running around setting up the video and trying to work out the kinks as this was going to be the very first time a video was played during a funeral/memorial service at Ballard’s Mortuary. It all worked out perfectly thanks to them both.
This memorial video created by Daryl Yamamoto has helped Sierra and me through our grieving and healing process and we’ve watched it hundreds of times. We’ve watched it together and I remember times when she’d pop the dvd in the player and watch it on her own. It’s a cherished gift from a friend that continues to help us thru our loss.
Thank you Daryl. Your act of kindness and love will always be remembered by Sierra and me. RIP
Daryl’s kids, Donna and Darren, have inherited their father’s generous nature and dedication to family and friends. They also shared their dad’s love for creating visual arts in the form of filmmaking and photography. View their amazing work here: http://www.element-pictures.net/
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