George Russell "Keoki" Kealoha, Sr.
Year Inducted: 2013
Kuka'iau Ranch | Hawai'i
George Russell Kealoha Sr., fondly known by his family and friends as “Keoki,” was born on September 22, 1928 and raised on Kukaʻiau Ranch. He passed away on July 16th, 2008 at the age of 79. He was known to many as being reserved, humble, and honest, musically talented, and a bit rascal with an easy sense of humor. He was also a very quiet person until you approached him on the subject of horses, dogs, cows, hunting, and/or the mountains; then he couldn’t be quiet.
The story of his birth is a good one. He was born to Samuel Haʻaheo Kealoha and Maraea Wela Kealoha. They lived at Kukaʻiau when traveling was done on horseback. So, two weeks before Keoki was born, Samuel saddled up the horses, put Maraea on it, and rode all the way to Paʻauilo where someone picked her up and took her to Kalōpā where Keoki was born. Two weeks later, Samuel saddled up the horses again, road back to Paʻauilo and picked up mother and baby, and took them back to the ranch. Keoki was literally born on the horse.
As Keoki grew up, during his school breaks, he spent a lot of his time working alongside the older paniolos, learning the secrets of the trade. Keoki and his brother, Paul, started training and breaking horses at Kukaʻiau in their early teens. At the age of 17, he applied at Kukaʻiau Ranch to be a full time paniolo. He got the job and worked there for 33 years.
When Keoki turned 27 years old, he met a young girl from Maui who had come to visit her sister on the ranch. Her name was Shirley A. Fernandez and after a whirlwind courtship, they were married. Keoki and Shirley had four children, Georgiann, Corinne, Jan, and George Jr.
During his career as a paniolo, he was an excellent cattleman. With his sharp eyes and wit, he could accurately pair up cows with their calves in a matter of minutes. One of Keoki’s projects at Kukaʻiau Ranch was to perfect the breeding of the Hereford herd working toward excellent conformation, markings and size. He did this along with managing the breeding stock of the horses. Although he kept excellent written records of the livestock, unbeknownst to many, he had a photographic memory. When ever he looked at an animal, he could tell you exactly the animal’s full geneological background and their personalities without looking at his records.
Keoki loved to tell us stories of being a paniolo in the old days, He’d tell about the days of working in the rain, dust, frost and snow, of taking cattle to the Kawaihae Harbor to load on freighters, of chasing wild cattle through the mountains, and of getting stuck in the swampy area of Maulua gulch. Keoki was a perfectionist in all that he did, and very proud to have been a “True Hawaiian Paniolo.”