Charles Louis Lake Jr.

(Excerpts from "Our Portuguese Heritage", APRIL 2015 Newsletter)

We begin our April newsletter with the sad news of Charlie Lake's passing on Monday, March 23rd. Back in 2008, Charlie wrote a short bio on himself for our newsletter. Here it is:

"A product of a Portuguese mother and a Spanish/English father, I attended St. Louis College in Honolulu. I joined the US Air Force in 1951 and served in Mississippi, Oklahoma, two tours in Japan and Hawaii. I retired from the Air Force after 22 years in 1973. Worked in sales and marketing as a district manager for a military food broker, selling to the military exchanges and commissaries. Retired in 1990.

Married to Theresa Medeiros of Maui, with a family of six children (three boys, three girls), fourteen grandchildren and nine great grandchildren with number ten, eleven and twelve due in 2008.

My brother did extensive genealogy research prior to his passing and I started out to finish his work, and am still working on it. Researched my wife's family (mother's side) and put together a book journal on the Gomes/Costa families. Still working to complete my family histories so our children will know who came before them and a little of how life was back then.

Thanks to the good people at the Portuguese Genealogical Society of Hawaii, I am learning the art of genealogical research and hope to increase my knowledge and use of our records and documents in order to help others find their ancestors."

For the next six years, Charlie worked on his own and his wife's genealogies, always sharing his research with all. Besides that, Charlie created display boards detailing the accomplishments and history of Portuguese in Hawaii. Two of his projects need further recognition. The first was a photograph of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church Choir ca 1905. Through his hard work and perseverance, he was able to identify all 27 young ladies and produced their genealogies. Each time we went to Makawao, Maui to do a workshop, Charlie would bring this poster board and genealogies. Now and then, we would see someone looking at the photograph and crying. They would explain that they had never seen a picture of their ancestor. Of course, Charlie had made 8x10 copies of the photograph to share.

The second one had a very limited distribution, but it really reflected who Charlie was. Charlie produced a project for the 100th Anniversary of the current St. Joseph Catholic Church in Makawao, Maui. If you have never been inside the church, there are many stained glass windows which were paid for by different Portuguese families. Charlie got 8x10 color photographs of each window, identified the couple who paid for it, collected a picture of the couple and wrote a short biography on each. He gave copies of his finished project to representatives of each family and a copy to the church. The couples were Manuel Tavares & Maria Victoria da Camara, Frank Gomes Sr. & Theresa da Costa, John Costa & Helena Souza Medeiros, Stephen E. Hubbard & Mary Margues Gomes, Tam Sing & Rebecca Uluihi Alana, Frank da Costa & Izabel Caldeira, Jose De Coite & Margarita da Costa, Manuel F. Caires & Ludvina Souza, Jose Antonio Rodrigues & Sabina Rodrigues, and John Gouvea & Rosa Gouvea.

The following is the introduction that Charlie wrote for this project:

"We dedicate this tribute to our ancestors, men and women of courage and faith who braved months on the high seas and crossed two oceans to settle in a new land. They did this in order to find a better life in which to raise their families.

Life in the new land was not easy. Men worked the plantations for meager wages and later started farms, ranches and businesses to provide for their families. Women raised their children under harsh conditions and maintained the household with what little they had.

As if this were not difficult enough, these men and women found the time and energy to help organize and build a church where they could give thanks, worship our Lord and strengthen their faith in Him. So many gave of their time, labor and money to support this church.

We acknowledge and honor them all, especially those who gave us such a lasting beauty by providing to us the magnificent stained glass windows admired by so many. May God bless them with eternal peace."

Charlie was very proud of his Portuguese heritage. He will be greatly missed, but he will never be forgotten.

Obituary:

Charles Louis Lake, Jr., 83, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, passed away on March 23, 2015. He Retired from the United States Air Force - Communications. Mr. Lake is survived by his wife, Theresa; sons, Randy, Ronald, and Robert; daughters, Monica Lake, Cheryl Padeken, and Cindy Burt; brother, Francis Lake; sisters, Shirley Rezentes and Loretta Parrish; 14 Grandchildren and 17 Great-Grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on April 13, 2015 at St. Ann's Church in Kaneohe. Visitation will be at 10am and service will begin at 11:30am. Burial to follow at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery at 1pm.

Casual attire suggested.

Flowers are welcomed.