Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.
-Edna Buchanan
-Edna Buchanan
On Saturday, I went to a memorial service for Adelheid (Heidi) Paik who passed away on October 19 in Honolulu. She and her late husband, Kwong Sin Paik, had four children who attended Konawaena: William, Heidi, Bernadette and Linda. Linda and I have been friends since the fifth grade and as I looked at all of the family photographs on display, I realized that her mother had an influence on my life too.
Adelheid Kreft grew up in Germany and followed her mother, on foot in 1944 to escape the Nazis and then the Russians, from Danzig to Berlin and on to Bavaria. A year after the war ended, she met a young man from Hawaii and then a year later, found herself on a coffee farm in Kona.
Heidi lived an affluent life before the war and when she became a coffee farm wife and mother, she shared her experience-rich life with, and through, her family. My first and lasting exposure to opera came from Heidi by way of Linda's voice. Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme was my favorite and Linda sang it beautifully even in her pre-teen years. She always prefaced her rendition by letting me know that it wasn't a song for a "nice girl". I'm sure her mother told her that.
Heidi sought out and befriended other German brides and had a circle of friends with whom she enjoyed kaffee klatches and singing. But she also appreciated the ethnic mixed plate that is Hawaii.
I sat at the front door of the church on Saturday with another grade school friend, Nellie Pulido Medeiros, where we looked after the guest books and received the cards and offerings of condolences. So many people stopped to tell me that they, or someone close to them, had been Heidi's best friend. Some had German accents, others were Filipino, Japanese and Hawaiian. They were all her best friends.
I sat behind the congregation at her service and noticed many of my classmates. Many were there to help, as well as be there for their best friend, Linda. Like mother, like daughter.
Some people have a magnetic attitude, always extending an open arm into a circle that already looks full and occupied. Linda opened her arms to me when I was a new kid at her school. She always encouraged others to sing with her, even though her clear soprano notes could outlast and override us all.
Adelheid Kreft Paik opened her arms to embrace a new life, a new family and new friends here in Hawaii. Her reach continues to grow through all of us touched by her and her children. Where is it written that we can have only one, best friend?
Adelheid Kreft grew up in Germany and followed her mother, on foot in 1944 to escape the Nazis and then the Russians, from Danzig to Berlin and on to Bavaria. A year after the war ended, she met a young man from Hawaii and then a year later, found herself on a coffee farm in Kona.
Heidi lived an affluent life before the war and when she became a coffee farm wife and mother, she shared her experience-rich life with, and through, her family. My first and lasting exposure to opera came from Heidi by way of Linda's voice. Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme was my favorite and Linda sang it beautifully even in her pre-teen years. She always prefaced her rendition by letting me know that it wasn't a song for a "nice girl". I'm sure her mother told her that.
Heidi sought out and befriended other German brides and had a circle of friends with whom she enjoyed kaffee klatches and singing. But she also appreciated the ethnic mixed plate that is Hawaii.
I sat at the front door of the church on Saturday with another grade school friend, Nellie Pulido Medeiros, where we looked after the guest books and received the cards and offerings of condolences. So many people stopped to tell me that they, or someone close to them, had been Heidi's best friend. Some had German accents, others were Filipino, Japanese and Hawaiian. They were all her best friends.
I sat behind the congregation at her service and noticed many of my classmates. Many were there to help, as well as be there for their best friend, Linda. Like mother, like daughter.
Some people have a magnetic attitude, always extending an open arm into a circle that already looks full and occupied. Linda opened her arms to me when I was a new kid at her school. She always encouraged others to sing with her, even though her clear soprano notes could outlast and override us all.
Adelheid Kreft Paik opened her arms to embrace a new life, a new family and new friends here in Hawaii. Her reach continues to grow through all of us touched by her and her children. Where is it written that we can have only one, best friend?
Photo:Home and Garden
