$2.3 million improvement project has begun at 8 neglected state cemeteries in Hawaiʻi
The new state cemetery office in Hawaiʻi recently completed a $200,000 project at Waiʻanae Japanese Cemetery that included removal of trash, cutting down trees that were uprooting graves and installing fencing.
In 2025, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature allocated $2.3 million over two fiscal years to maintain eight state-owned cemeteries that had been neglected for many years.
This spring, the state Department of Accounting and General Services surveyed boundaries of the cemeteries with 5,900 internments across 27 acres of state land. And recently, the state finished improvements at the first of the eight inactive cemeteries under its care and control.
At Waiʻanae Japanese Cemetery, 85-271 Waiʻanae Valley Road, on Oʻahu, a $200,000 project was completed. Workers hauled away at least five tons of trash, removed trees and installed 2,000 feet of fencing.
“This area was covered with trash from houseless people who took up residence here, weeds up to my waist and mature albizia trees with tree trunks about five feet in diameter,” said Dion Yasui, manager of the new state cemetery office, in a press release. “We had to cut many of the trees down as they were uprooting graves.”
Similar work will be done at Hanapēpē Filipino Cemetery on Lele Road on Kauaʻi.
The eight cemeteries were established in the mid-1800s and haven’t had active burials for years. About a quarter of the graves are marked “Unknown” because burial records were not well maintained.
“The investment we’re making in our cemeteries is really important because these are the final resting places of our loved ones, our ancestors, our friends and our family members,” Acting Lt. Governor Keith Regan said. “They haven’t been well-kept over the decades, so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”
The other state cemeteries are:
- Kalaoa Fourth Cemetery aka Mauna Ziona Cemetery, 73-4297 Māmalahoa Hwy., Kailua-Kona
- Waiʻanae Catholic/Sacred Hearts Cemetery, 85-759 Farrington Hwy., Waiʻanae
- Puʻukamaliʻi Cemetery, 1821 Kamaliʻi St., ʻĀlewa Heights
- Puea Cemetery, 1440 North School St., Kalihi
- ʻAiea Cemetery, 99-123 Uahi St., ʻAiea
- Makiki Cemetery, 1630 Pensacola St., Makiki
Members of the public with information about loved ones buried at any of the eight sites should contact centralservices@hawaii.gov or 808-831-6733.
