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Born in 1939 to loving but poor parents who lived in an overcrowded tenement and labored long hours in a factory to make ends meet, Rawlings was often left to his own devices in the “tough streets of Glasgow.”

He started smoking at age 12. Dropped out of school at 15 to start working. Lost his father soon after.

It was, in short, a childhood that could easily have set him up for a bleak life. But Rawlings, who died in the 2023 Lahaina wildfires, was never one for doom or gloom, his daughter said.

A love of people — along with the gift of gab and a strong work ethic — took him from the rough-and-tumble streets of Glasgow to Boston and eventually the distant shores of Maui, where he spent the last 30 years of his life.

“He was adventurous. He loved working with people,” his oldest daughter, Shirley McPherson, said. And he loved Maui. “He loved the heat. He loved the people. He absolutely loved the people.”

Rawlings was the youngest of three sons. His mother was an Italian immigrant, his father a Scottish factory worker. The family lived in a two-room tenement for much of Rawlings’ childhood. It was a tiny space for a family of five — a bedroom and a kitchen without so much as a hallway between the two. But the kitchen window had a nearly unobstructed view of the docklands in the distance.

Some of his earliest memories were of that kitchen window. Of his mother holding him up to look at all the colorful ship flags at port; his father standing behind him at the sink while air raid sirens wailed and red lights flashed in the distance, helping him to not be afraid.

The monthly emergency siren tests on Maui often reminded him of those World War II air raid warnings, he wrote in 2018, in a digital scrapbook that he put together for his two daughters.

When Rawlings dropped out of school as a teenager, he worked first as a delivery boy for a rubber warehouse, followed by a series of odd jobs until he served a two-year stint in the British Army. He got married soon after finishing his time in the service and had two daughters.

Rawlings had a knack for connecting with people. He was also extremely disciplined, McPherson said. He hated bullies and taught his daughters to stand up for themselves — and for others.

He supported his family by working as a truck driver until he was in a wreck that almost cost him his life. After the accident, Rawlings bought a taxi and then a small bus, finding a niche driving American tourists around Scotland.

Eventually, when his children were grown and he was long-divorced, he met an American woman and followed her to Boston. The move lasted only a few years before a friend called from Maui and convinced him to give Hawaii a try. He fell in love with the island at first sight.

For more than a decade he drove a double-decker tour bus around Maui. He had an extended network of friends and adopted family on the island and, even after a heart attack forced him to retire from driving, he kept busy.

Until the age of 80, he worked multiple odd jobs, McPherson said. Sometimes the work, including cleaning a restaurant after hours and lending a hand hosting, was simply in exchange for a good meal and something to do.

Then, at 82, he fell and broke his hip. A string of medical issues followed, severely limiting his mobility. Being relatively housebound transformed his personality, making him a far grumpier man than he had been before.

“He just hated that he couldn’t really get out,” McPherson said.

On the day of the Lahaina fires, he was last seen sheltering in an apartment with several other Hale Mahaolu residents, including one man who is believed to have stayed behind trying to rescue his neighbors.

This, ultimately, is what gives his daughter comfort: That her outgoing and gregarious father, whose last year had been marred by loneliness, did not spend his final moments alone.

If you lost a family member or friend in the Maui fires and would like to help us tell their story, email memorial@civilbeat.org or call 808-650-4447.