Sunday, April 13, 2008

Aloha Nani Lee

(Honolulu Star-Bulletin Courtesy Photo)

"Nani Lee Meadows, widow of singer and songwriter Kui Lee and an entertainer in her own right, died yesterday after battling cancer for several years, her family said.

She was 76.

Rose Frances Naone Leinani Lee Meadows was a singer and hula dancer who performed on the East Coast in the 1950s and in Waikiki in the 1960s.

She met Lee, who wrote the song "I'll Remember You" for Don Ho, in New York. He was a knife dancer and choreographer when both performed in the Hawaiian Room of the Lexington Hotel.

"She was one of those local girls that had so much personality. She had the passion and loved to dance," said Lani McIntire, a longtime friend. "That's why Kui fell in love with her, I guess."

Returning with Lee to Hawaii in the 1960s, Meadows performed with her husband at Andy's Ebbtide in Kailua and with Don Ho at Honey's and was featured on the Don Ho Greatest Hits album."

http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/13/news/story08.html