Aloha "Aunty Nona"

(Aloha Music Camp photo, Mahalo!)

"Aunty" Nona's son, slack key great Keola Beamer, has been a regular on my annual Christmas music collection.

"Longtime entertainer and Hawaiian cultural expert Nona Beamer died today at her home on Maui, her family confirmed. She was 84.

"Aunty Nona" was a legend in Hawaii, known for her singing, ukulele playing, hula dancing, and song writing.

Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer was the matriarch of the musical Beamer family, including sons Keola and Kapono, and was one of the world's foremost authorities on Hawaiian culture and a noted hula teacher."

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