William K. Wallace III passed away on March 2nd, after a year and a half battle with cancer. Click here to read about the University's procession in his honor. Uncle Bill, as he is known around campus, made a tremendous impact on me when I transferred to BYU-Hawaii. I took two classes from him during my first semester, and I quickly began to admire the man. He had an intense zeal for life. He pushed his students, took an interest in them, and challenged them beyond the classroom.
Outside the classroom Uncle Bill became my mentor and friend. He was the captain of the traditional Hawaiian sailing canoe, Iosepa. When class got out, I would race over to the building site on my bike and help build the boat. No matter what we were doing on the boat, Uncle Bill was always teaching us. I was part of a team of volunteers that began the nine-month process of creating the Iosepa from seven large dakua, or tropical hardwood logs imported from Fiji. For more information about the Iosepa, see this article.
I will never forget chanting I Ku Mau Mau in the classroom before the start of every class while Uncle Bill, with an enormous smile spread across his face, played his Ukulele and sang. Uncle Bill treated everyone like Ohana.(family) Like my father, he taught me the importance of genealogy, and to respect my ancestors and myself. But above all else, he encouraged me to never give up on my dreams.
Click here for a great read on the abridged history of the LDS church in Hawai'i; created by Uncle Bill.
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