KALOKA'S KORNER

ALOHA DEAR KALOKA FAMILY,

My dear mother, Carol Pregill, was born in December, 1922. During the Great Depression, the hardships she and her family endured on their farm, in Oklahoma, gave her great strength, determination and a persevering spirit. Mother was an amazingly strong woman, physically and mentally, until her late eighties. At age 86, she valiantly fought her moderate Alzheimer’s disease until God took her home February of last year. She was blessed by a long life of 93 years.

It was my honor and privilege caring for her all those years. We enjoyed many wonderful times together and I carry those precious memories with me today. However, watching her as she battled losing her memory was heartbreaking! She displayed fits of anger and combativeness. I do have sad memories of holding her as she cried during those times of mental confusion. Through the tears, I would always sing her favorite Gospel Hymns whenever she was having an upsetting loss of memory. She would join in

and by singing the amazing Hymns her joy returned and she would smile again.

Mother loved Hawaii! “Kaloka” is her Hawaiian name. In her memory, I wanted my product to be named after her. Mother always told a story of falling in love with Hawaii. After a long day of doing her farm chores, she would fall into bed at night exhausted. She would turn on her tiny transistor radio that she kept beside her on her nightstand. Somehow, she picked up a Hawaiian station called “Hawaii Calls.” Closing her eyes, she listened to the beautiful island music as she drifted off to sleep. She envisioned Hawaii to be such a gorgeous, tropical paradise and she always dreamed of going there someday.

Little did she know that in 1959, while she was a Home Economics teacher in Champagne, Illinois, mother met my father who was born and raised in Oahu, Hawaii. Father had left Hickam Field AFB to receive special airplane mechanic’s training at Chanute AFB. They fell in love and were married just 3 months later. Mother and father lived in Hawaii for three months. The dreams that she had as a young girl had come true!

In my blogs to follow, I will share stories from mother’s growing up years on the farm, her brave battle with Alzheimer’s and stories about father growing up in Hawaii. So please share in their journey!

Agape and Mahalo,

Renee

Proverbs 3:5-6