Cheryl Anne Sproat's Obituary
Cheryl (Cheri) Anne Sproat, 74, from North Kohala, Hawai'i, passed away on May 31, 2024. Orignally from Oregon, she was born and raised in Eugene by her parents Harold and Anne Haag.
Shortly after graduating from high school in 1968, Cheri moved to Hawai'i. She first lived on Kaua'i and O'ahu for brief times before she located to Moloka'i, where she met Clyde Kindy Halema'uma'u Sproat. They enjoyed time together on Moloka'i where Kindy was working on the Kaulapapa Mule Ride and singing at Hotel Moloka'i where Cheri worked. After moving back to Kindy's home district of North Kohala, they were married in the early 1980s.
Cheri and Kindy eventually built their forever home at Makanikahio overlooking Pololu Valley on property with ancestral ties to Kindy's Hawaiian family. This was a time when few people visited this remote location. A second log home was built for Kindy's father on the Pololu property, where he lived while still independent. Kindy and Cheri were also caretakers of property in the remote valley of Honokaneiki along the North Kohala coast, a special place leased by the Sproat family for generations and where Kindy was raised as a child.
Cheri was known for sharing her deep aloha and warm smile. Though she had no children of her own, this special woman helped to raise many kids from the area, from grandchildren related to Kindy to her godsons, including her very close friend?s son. She would open her heart as well as her home. Cheri also became emersed in Kindy's large family who lived in Kohala and O'ahu.
Caring for Kohala was something Cheri did and preserving Niuli'i was an important focus. She and Kindy wanted to make sure the area stayed rural so they purchased acreage long ago to keep it undeveloped. Cheri also spent years working with a group of friends to create North Kohala's Kamehameha Day Celebration. She loved the culture of these islands and of her family.
Cheri?s support and organizational skills were instrumental in helping her well known falsetto singing husband with his musical career. This dedicated wife managed his singing engagements which took them to many places, including performing at Carnegie Hall and on the Washington Mall. Cheri and a friend were able to produce two albums of special songs Kindy chose to share - songs – “Clyde Halema'uma'u Sproat Sings” and “Na Mele Kupuna,” soon to be available on Smithsonian Folkways.
When Faye Mitchell created a book from the autobiographical oral history Kindy shared with her, Cheri diligently went through every word to make sure “A Storyteller's Story - Kindy Sproat of North Kohala” was accurate and true to his voice. Cheri cared for her beloved husband untill his passing on December 14, 2008.
Cheri danced hula for many years. Beginning around 1996, she danced with kumu hula Raylene Kawaiae'a and Halau O Ha'alelea. Cheri joined Na Kupuna O Kohala Halau Hula led by Kau'i Nakamura after Raylene's passing in 2012. She served as halau President for three years, guiding the group with calm confidence through many projects. Cheri was the soloist at the 2014 Kupuna Hula Competition in Kona, where she danced “Kaulana Oe Neneu” adorned in lei Kukunaokala.
For the last few years of her life, Cheri became involved in the stewardship program for Pololu Valley. She and her companion Brian Caravalho have been indispensible in the support of the effort to educate visitors about this much loved sacred place she lived next to for many years. Using her property to store things and allowing her driveway by the lookout to be used for the information tent are only a few ways Cheri and Brian have helped make this project a success.
Cheryl Sproat is survived by 9 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, and 12 great great grandchildren, plus many long time friends from near and far. Special appreciation is shared to her companion Brian Carvalho for the past eight years of supporting and caring for Cheri and making sure she was able to enjoy exccursions into the valleys of North Kohala where she felt most at home.
A celebration of life is being planned and information will be shared at a later date. Cheri's ashes will be put to rest at the Niul'ii Cemetary with Kindy as well as another spot special to her. In our hearts we will always honor her legacy of quiet strength, endless aloha, and deep appreciation for Hawai'i and its people, especially North Kohala and Pololu Valley.
Donations to help with the stewardship of Cheri's beloved Pololu Valley can made in her name by sending them to: Sarah Pule, PO Box 865, Kapa'u, HI 96755.
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