John Clifford Dambacher's Obituary
Celebrating the life of John Clifford Dambacher Born on June 25, 1937 in Los Angeles, CA.
His parents were Clifford Dambacher and Inez Elizabeth Shaver
John was the 1st of 4 children. Brothers Phil and Stephen preceded him in death. His
Sister Christine Porter resides in Redding, CA.
He graduated from Anderson High School, Redding, CA.
John is survived by Kalai Dambacher, sons; Mark (Danna), David, Stephen (Heidi) and Jason Dambacher; his daughter, Kristiane Dambacher; his children by marriage,
Laura-Lee Feurtado, Lehua (Joseph) Ka’ae and Ted (Liane) Awana;
John was blessed with the following grandchildren; Caleb, Ben, Abigail, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Sandra, Sydney, Sierra, Becky, Curtis, Kohl, Camren, Jaron, Isaac, Mick, Elijah, Brooke, Katie, Samuel, Suzy, Merril, Raelyn, Winnie Dambacher; James (Stacy) Feurtado, Kaianne Feurtado, Halai’i-Levi Ka’ai, Keolamana and Nohea Ka’ai, Makana and Kaua Awana. (30)
Great Grandchildren; Liam, Drake, Aurora, Kalani, Arik, Nakoa, Kingston, Kauai, Mahealani, Quick, Edmund, Nainoa and Kahai Feurtado, Jude Machado, Ka’ula Ka’ae, Cameron, Vailea and Kenzo Maeda. (18)
He was preceded in death by his son John Dambacher, Seattle, WA and his brothers Phil and Stephen Dambacher, Redding, CA
After high school and trying out college, he signed on as a logger in California working in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Through logging he chose carpentry and went on to become a Master Carpenter in Alaska and Hawaii where he met lifelong friends Mike Chu, and Bill Doi. They collaborated on construction projects for the rest of their lives.
Starting his carpentry career, he resided in Kenai, Alaska for a number of years married to Sandra Supple where they had six children. In the early 70’s he moved with his sons to Hawaii and resided in Kaaawa until he met Carlisle “Kalai” Awana (Brown) in 1976 at Village Inn in Kahala.
From this point John and Kalai’s lives were inseparable. John often referred to Kalai as the “love of my life”. They became each other’s best friend. They married on November 18, 1991.
They purchased and proceeded to remodel their home in Kailua, Hawaii making it a special place for family and friends to hang out. John and Kalai enjoyed their lives building their home, family functions, their dogs (Louie, Max, Moke and Coors). Louie was with John till the end. They walked in the park every day and Louie was a fixture in John’s white Ford pickup with country music blasting. John enjoyed his Grandkids sports and traveling to new places i.e. China, Hong Kong, Canada, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Maui, Hawaii Island are a few.
John never met a person he didn’t like. He made deep, committed friendships with people including Mike Chu, Robert Heinzel, Bill Doi, Bob and David Cunningham, Alfred Young, Carl Brown, Mike Amsbury and Betty Wong to name a few of his closest.
He loved to search for antiques wherever he traveled and football was his game. He was a lifelong fan of the San Francisco 49ers and in the last few years became focused on the Seattle Seahawks. He followed Peyton and Eli Manning throughout their athletic careers.
Country music was his favorite and he could be heard singing or humming tunes while he worked. Also enjoyed relaxing to Hawaiian music, particularly live concerts, especially Brother IZ and Sunday Manoa and very old “oldies”! John Wayne was his “man” to watch over and over on TV. One of his favorite times was fishing with Kalai and his sons in Alaska. He was in his element out on the water or wading in a river to catch salmon with his friendly smile that lit up the world.
John Dambacher lovingly known as “Papa John” was a special person to so many people. To know him was to love him. His friendship, kindness, generosity, hugs were the best. He lived his life to the fullest to his last breath.
John lived his life as we all should aspire – he smiled>often; he thought>positive; he gave>freely, he laughed>loudly, he loved>deeply, he dreamed>big
He will be truly missed
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