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Soledad Obado knew from a young age that life in one of Hawaii’s smallest towns could be pretty close to heaven. She also knew it could sometimes be incredibly hard.

On the small island of Lanai, with a population of 3,200, Obado is known as “Auntie Soling” or “Mama Sue” or “Ninang” (the Tagalog word for “godmother”) by people who got through hard times because of her kindness.

If there was a death in the family, Obado would come to the family’s home to lead prayers every day for 10 days.

If an elder needed help getting to a doctor’s appointment, Obado would volunteer to pick them up at their house, drive them to their appointment, wait with them, and then drive them home afterward. She did this even when she became an elder herself.

And if anyone was hungry, she’d find a way to feed them.

The Sacred Hearts Catholic Church in Lanai City, where Obado did much of her community outreach work, planned a service this month to honor her decades of volunteerism.

As her family got ready for the event, they reflected on all the things Obado had done and the fullness of her life on such a small island. It didn’t seem possible that one person could have that much aloha and that much energy to do so much good.

Obado was born on Lanai in 1925 to a father who immigrated from the Philippines and a mother who was Hawaiian and Chinese. When Obado was 13, her mother died, and she struggled take care of her younger siblings and keep them together before they ended up being taken into foster homes. That loss shaped her values in life. “Family is everything to her,” granddaughter Dolleen Obado-Keola said.

Obado married at 16 and had her first baby at 17. She worked in Lanai’s pineapple fields, but later took a job at the island’s 13-bed hospital, cleaning and cooking for the patients, and even driving the ambulance and crocheting booties to keep their feet warm. After her six children were grown, she put herself through school to become a nurse. As a nurse, she continued to cook for the patients, knowing that food can comfort and heal.

If there was an event at the church, Obado would cook for the gathering and make all the crown flower lei. She taught catechism classes, made breakfast for the kids receiving their First Communion, and led the church choir practices. She visited church members who were homebound and prayed with them.

In the 1990s, she started the Lanai Food Pantry at her church, collecting and distributing donated food to neighbors in need. She was worried about families that couldn’t make ends meet and the elderly who went hungry. The people the pantry helps make less than $2,000 a month. Well into her 80s, she continued to lead the project and never missed a day of volunteering. A big rule for her was checking the expiration dates on the food. She was careful to only give people the best of what she had.

While Obado was taking care of her community, she was also taking care of her large family. During summers, all 13 grandchildren would come to Lanai to stay at her house.

“She still was working at the hospital from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. as a nurse, cook, caretaker at the elderly ward, and ambulance driver,” Keola said. “She’d get home at 6 a.m. to prepare breakfast for her grandchildren, then pack the entire house up with food to take us to the beach for the whole day.” 

As Keola remembers it, Obado would make dinner for all the grandkids, take a nap, and then head back to work at the hospital. It seemed like she never ran out of energy.

In the last several years, though, she has slowed down quite a bit.

Three of her grandchildren are now her caregivers. She now also has 23 great-grandchildren, and 13 great-great grandchildren. 

“Grandma will have good days and bad days. But most of all she wants is for you to be by her side. Even just to sit with her doing nothing,” Keola said.

In 2016, when I worked at the Honolulu Advertiser, I . That newspaper story led to a flood of donations to the Lanai Food Bank, including money, boxes of yarn, sewing supplies, new socks and blankets. Obado was grateful, but along with the donations came letters praising her years of service. That part didn’t sit well with her.

 “She doesn’t feel she needs to be recognized,” Keola said.

Obado, now 98, was honored by her church on Sunday for her years of service. Her family gathered around her, some flying to Lanai to attend the special event.

When Sunday came, Obado didn’t want to go to the service. Her legs hurt, and she never wanted anyone to make a fuss over the things she did. Besides, her family was gathered around her at home, and that’s what she always felt was the most important thing.