Richard Keonaona Spillner December 3, 1934 - December 25, 2020

Richard Keonaona Spillner was born on December 3, 1934, in the Waialua Plantation Hospital to parents, Charles Spillner and Mary Kuni Spillner. Richard was one of 5 sons and 6 daughters. Out of all his siblings, he is survived by his sister, Irene Primachio.

Richard would spend the first few years of life living with his family in a cave located in Waimea Valley, until when he was at the age of 3, the Hawaiian government built his family a small shack in the valley. Several different places on the North Shore of Oahu is where he and his family would call home, during his childhood.

Some activities he enjoyed during his childhood included swinging on vines, like Tarzan, with his friends at the waterfall in Waimea Valley, or swimming and jumping off cliffs into the pool; surfing waves in Waimea Bay or hunting in the valley, for wild boars, with his dog and dagger.

Another favorite pastime was fishing. He learned to throw, net, and spear fish which he did often during his life. His love for fishing is also why during the tsunami of April 1941, as a tsunami caused the ocean waters to recede, Richard saw fish stranded all over the reef; so, his first inclination was to gather all the fish. However, his dad yelled at him to get across the road to higher ground for safety. He crossed the road and only had enough time to climb a tree, where he remained as the water from the tsunami came crashing across the road.

The story of the Tsunami was one of many cherished stories Richard loved to tell. Those who knew him well most likely heard one of the stories of his childhood. Another story he shared often was about Pearl Harbor.

In 1941, Richard had his 7th birthday. Gifts were rare on birthdays; but, on this birthday, his dad had given him a cap gun, which Richard always referred to as a pop gun. He would wake up every morning to play cops and robbers. On the morning of December 7, 1941, while playing with his friends, he watched as planes flew over the island. He lined up one of the planes in his line of sight and shot at it with his pop gun. The plane started to smoke and went down on a reef nearby. Richard cried because he thought he had shot it down. The plane was actually the first Japanese plane shot down that day.

Growing up, Richard was extremely athletic, and most sports came very naturally to him. He attended Waialua High School where he was a member of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. During his senior year in 1952, Richard was one of seven players named to the All Star team from Waialua’s championship football team. After graduating in 1953, Richard was a pitcher for the Little All-American baseball team and traveled to Japan to play ball. From there, he attended college, starting with a semester at the University of Hawaii, then transferring to the University of Illinois; and finally, Kansas State Teachers College. While attending college, he continued to play sports and added swimming and track to the list of sports he participated in.

His collegiate years were cut short, when he volunteered for military service. His wish was to jump out of airplanes and attend Jump School. He joined the U.S. Army and was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, to train. After his training, he was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina . He became a member of the Green Beret Special Forces and over his twenty-two years in the military, he served four tours in Vietnam, and was a recipient of the Purple Heart.

Richard retired from the military in 1979, while stationed in Hawaii. After his military service, he became a lifeguard in his home valley at Waimea Falls Park. Once, after a world cliff diving championship was held at the park, he talked them into starting a show at the park and became one of the divers, himself.  One of his favorite things to do was to dive, come up behind the waterfall and hide, so no one could see him, wait a few minutes, then reappear to wow the crowd. When he was younger, he would also hide from his sisters, Irene and Elsie, then suddenly reappear, when diving through a cave in the ocean.

It was during his time as a lifeguard and cliff diver that he met Gaynol and her kids. There are many fond memories of spending time in Waimea Valley with Richard, swimming and cliff jumping at the falls, hiking the trails, and listening to his stories of hunting wild boar, collecting peacock feathers, or ending the day sitting at the restaurant listening to the sound of the peacocks in the valley. Richard was referred to by many as the “Man of the Valley.”

Eventually, Gaynol and Richard were married, in 1985, in Mapleton, Utah, which would become their permanent residence. However, Richard always considered Hawaii his home. Over the years, whenever possible, he went “home” to visit family and be by the ocean, which he loved.

During the first few years of residing in Utah, Richard bought a horse named “Goldie” and would ride as a member of the Hawaiian Riding Club that would travel from Hawaii to participate in the Fiesta Bowl Parade in Arizona. Richard rode in the Fiesta Bowl Parade for several years. Richard’s love of riding and the outdoors often found him riding through the mountains or hunting with family.

Lots of people knew Richard as a bowler. His interest in bowling started after riding in a parade in Provo where he was injured. On the way to the hospital, he saw a bowling alley and mentioned it to Gaynol. Once he started bowling, Richard loved it so much that he frequently practiced and eventually joined a league. He attended bowling-ball drilling school, which became his second career, working in many pro shops, drilling balls and sometimes giving lessons. Over the years, Richard was an avid bowler, participating in many leagues and competing in local, state, and national tournaments. During his bowling years, he made many friends who became like family to him.

Richard loved to make others laugh and most who knew him remember his happy disposition and smile. He had a great love for his family and a soft spot in his heart for his grandkids. Many years were spent helping take care of grandkids, attending their activities and taking trips with them.

Richard will always be remembered by many names, including the Man of the Valley, Big Kahuna, Sergeant Pineapple, Richard Gi-chan, and Papa. His middle name, Keonaona means born free, to encounter any task, and open-hearted. This describes Richard, perfectly. He always had kind words, a bright smile, and a big heart. Rainbows and “liquid sunshine” will always remind us of Richard.

A visitation for family and friends will be Saturday, January 2, 2021, from 9:00 – 9:45 a.m. at Walker Funeral Home, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660.  Funeral service will follow at 10:00 a.m., also at the funeral home.  Interment will be at Springville Evergreen Cemetery.