Gov. Abercrombie Orders Flags to Half-Staff in Honor of Rev. Aiona

In remembrance of former Hawaii Board of Education member the Rev. Canon Darrow L. Kanakanui Aiona, Gov. Neil Abercrombie has ordered that all national and Hawaii flags are to be flown at half-staff today.

Flags at all state offices and agencies, in addition to Hawaii National Guard facilities, are to be at half-staff from sunrise to sunset.

“Rev. Aiona’s deep devotion to education, especially in the Native Hawaiian community, was a powerful inspiration to students and educators in Hawaii,” Abercrombie said in a statement released Monday.

Aiona, an Episcopal priest for nearly five decades, served on the Hawaii Board of Education for 20 years. He died of heart failure Dec. 20 in Honolulu at age 77.