Words by Claudine San Nicolas, Staff Writer <\/b> \u2022<\/b>The Maui News <\/b> \u2022<\/b>June 25, 2009<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> The Maui County Council honored Lindsey in May with a ceremonial resolution as a \u201cbeloved Maui treasure\u201d who served in numerous roles, including kumu, kupuna, uncle, tutu, brother, dad and husband.<\/p>\n Auntie Patty Nishiyama of Na Kapuna O Maui, an organization of Hawaiian elders she actively participated in with Lindsey, described him as \u201ca warrior, a strong warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe will be missed,\u201d Nishiyama said.<\/p>\n Lindsey was a founding member of Hui O Wa\u2019a Kaulua, an organization with activities including the building of a sailing canoe, Mo\u2019olele. He also was president of the Ohana Coalition, organizer of Kilakila O Haleakala, co-founder of the Maui Nui Marine Resources Council, member of Na Kupuna O Maui and a participant in the Kaanapali 2020 planning process.<\/p>\n Lindsey spearheaded ongoing native habitat restoration projects such as Malama Honokowai Valley, Malama Ukumehame and Malama Kaheawa-Hanaula.<\/p>\n It was through his work with Kaanapali 2020 that Lindsey saw a need to develop a formal mechanism that would perpetuate the protection of important cultural landscapes, and thus Maui Cultural Lands Inc. was founded as a Maui-based, grass-roots land trust organization aimed at stabilizing, protecting and restoring Hawaiian cultural resources.<\/p>\n The County Council resolution said Lindsey\u2019s legacy grows in his teachings to the young and old, residents and visitors, about the Hawaiian language, culture and flora and fauna.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> De Naie said she considered him a family friend and visited him several times during the last few months, including the night before he died. She said that two weeks ago, she jotted down notes from a conversation she had with him about the restoration of Honokowai Valley.<\/p>\n She said the Honokowai Valley restoration project is one of the best in the state. \u201cIt really gave people a chance to have an authentic experience of Hawaii,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While many know Lindsey for his environmental causes and his expertise in Hawaiiana, de Naie said he also had a passion for affordable housing and social justice for local residents.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was ever the caring person,\u201d de Naie said.<\/p>\n Randy Awo, chief of enforcement in Maui County for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said he knew Lindsey for years through his professional endeavors.<\/p>\n But, \u201cI came to know him on a personal level, as well,\u201d Awo said, learning from Lindsey about love for the land and growing to appreciate his and other Native Hawaiians\u2019 perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d grown to have aloha for him,\u201d Awo said. \u201cHe touched a lot of lives. He inspired a lot of people and that\u2019s how his work will live on.\u201d<\/p>\n Maui County Council Member Jo Anne Johnson said she visited with Lindsey this past weekend and sang songs with him and to him along with other friends.<\/p>\n \u201cIt meant a lot to me to be with him and his family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Johnson said she attended Waiola Church, the same place of worship for the Lindsey family.<\/p>\n She said that through all his years of advocacy, Lindsey encouraged positive thinking. \u201cWhat Ed would always stay away from was negativity,\u201d Johnson recalled. \u201cHe would say \u2018Don\u2019t give it life. Don\u2019t give it life.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Lindsey, who was born in 1939, was a boarding student at Kamehameha Schools on Oahu, and after graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, according to the County Council resolution. He pursued studies at Maunaolu Junior College where in 1961 he met and fell in love with his wife of 45 years, Puanani Doong Lindsey. The couple had three children.<\/p>\n Lindsey began his career as a teacher in Hana and after four years, transferred to Iao Intermediate School in Wailuku, where he specialized in teaching Hawaiian and social studies. He retired from teaching after 25 years of service.<\/p>\n The Sierra Club presented Lindsey with its Malama Ka Aina Award in 2006. In April, he was honored with the Malama I Ke Kai Kupuna Award at the More Fish in the Sea ocean-awareness fair.<\/p>\n Mayor Charmaine Tavares offered her condolences to the Lindsey family.<\/p>\n \u201cOur community has lost an important leader,\u201d she said. \u201cHis many contributions have made our island better in so many ways. He gave us a lifetime of remarkable work as a teacher and an active member of our community. I knew Ed when we were both teachers, and even then he had a drive to galvanize people to action.\u201d<\/p>\n Funeral arrangements were pending.<\/p>\n![\"'Strong](\"https:\/\/mauiculturallands.org\/mcl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Oct-05-2008-1354.jpg\" "\\"‘Strong")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Edwin \u201cEd\u201d Lindsey Jr., \u201ca steadfast champion and leader in protecting Maui\u2019s aina and its important cultural landscapes,\u201d died Wednesday morning at his family residence in Lahaina. He was 70.<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cHe\u2019s enriched my life so much,\u201d said Lucienne de Naie of the Sierra Club on Maui. \u201cHe was for everything about community building and he deeply cared about people, land, plants and animals.\u201d<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>