Glenn Ramos Pascual
Lucy Peros | Photos courtesy the Pascual ‘Ohana
Who would have known a lone marunggay tree that survived the Lahaina wildfire would become a symbol and reminder of this month’s featured Sakada Offspring, Glenn Ramos Pascual and his brothers of their Dad’s humble beginnings.”
Glenn Pascual was born in February 1971 in Wailuku, Maui, Hawai‘i. He attended King Kamehameha III Elementary School (K–5), Lahaina Intermediate School, Lahainaluna High School (Summa Cum Laude, Valedictorian), the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (B.A. Political Science with Distinction) and the University of Washington School of Law (Juris Doctor).
Singer, songwriter, composer, Hit-maker, blogger, and author Jeanette Coron once said, “Don’t underestimate small humble beginnings, because sometimes they can turn out to be the greatest success stories.” Such is Glenn’s employment history since he started working. From 1986–1989, Glenn worked at Arby’s in Lahaina (Customer Service). In the summer of 1989, he worked at Lapperts Ice Cream in Lahaina (Customer Service). During the summers of 1989–1990, he worked at Hyatt Regency Maui, Swan Court Restaurant in Lahaina (Buffet Runner). During the summers of 1991–1993, he worked in Videoland & TV in Lahaina (Customer Service Rep). In 1994, Glenn worked at the State of Hawai‘i Legislature, Office of Representative Romy Cachola as a Legislative Intern. In the summer of 1995, he was an Intern in the King County Prosecutor’s Office, City of Seattle. Also during the summer of 1995, he worked at Blockbuster Video in Seattle. In 1996, he was a Summer Intern with Dwyer Imanaka in Honolulu. He was with the law firm of Tateishi & Pascual in Wailuku from 1997 through 2019 (Partner 2008–2019, Associate 1998–2008, Paralegal 1997–1998). Since April 2020, he is a Deputy Corporation Counsel with the Department of Corporation Counsel, County of Maui.
Glenn is married to Madelyn Pascual. She is the Legal Secretary at the office of Tateishi and Tanaka. They have no children; however, they have a cat named Archie.
Glenn has four brothers. Macario Pascual is an Artist/Tennis Coach. He is married to Karen Pascual. They have two children. Conrad Pascual is a retired ABC Store Manager. He is married to Susan Pascual. They have two children. Luis Pascual, Jr. is a Systems Architect, at Hawai‘i Community Foundation. He is married to Monique Pascual. They have no children. Edwin Pascual is an ABC Store Manager. He and his ex-wife have two children.
Glenn enjoys photography. He is the Community photographer for Lahainaluna High School athletics and other school events, as well as for various west side (Lahaina) sports youth teams, (lunassports.zenfolio.com.) He also assists his wife from time to time with taking pictures for St. Anthony Church.
Glenn received several awards: Lahaina News, Sportsperson of the Year in 2018, Legend of Lahainaluna, Lahainaluna High School Foundation in 2022, and the Hawai‘i State Teachers’ Association Friend of Youth Award in 2024.
The following are Glenn’s hobbies and interests: Photography (youth/high school sports, Jadine), Music (Classical Rock-Beatles, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, Wings, Chicago, The Doors, Hawaiian-Kalapana, Cecilio & Kapono, Peter Moon, Reggae, Classical, Jazz, Orchestra). He likes to read about World War II, the Beatles, Peanuts, sports, non-fiction/biographies, and movies. He enjoys watching Korean dramas. He enjoys traveling like to New York, Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Boston, Rome Venice, Italy, Liverpool London, England, and Japan. He likes sports and plays basketball; follows pro and college sports basketball (Philadelphia 76ers), football, and cycling/mountain biking. Besides all these things, Glenn loves trivia games and eating.
Glenn’s father, Luis Pascual Sr. was a Sakada who immigrated from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to Hawai‘i on January 13, 1946 aboard the S.S. Maunawili. The ship stopped in Hilo for inspection before arriving in Maui. He started working at Pioneer Mill initially then worked at Pu‘unēnē (HC&S) and for Libby (pineapple) for about four months before returning to Pioneer Mill in Lahaina in 1949, where he worked until his retirement in 1986. Back in 1950, he earned $0.60 an hour. At the time of his retirement in 1986, he was an irrigator earning about $5–$6 per hour. According to Glenn, someone told him the fields above Puamana were among those having the highest yield for sugar of all the fields at Pioneer Mill. That’s Luis’ field area. He took great pride in his work.
In 1955, Luis returned to the Philippines and courted Natividad Ramos, got married, and had a son, Macario in 1956. Luis, however, had to return to Maui to work before his birth. Luis was able to petition Natividad and Macario to come to Hawai‘i in 1962. They lived in a plantation village called Pu‘ukoli‘i in the hills above Kā‘anapali. Together, they added three more sons to the family. In 1969, the family moved to a newly built subdivision called Paunau Terrace, just south of Pioneer Mill off Lahainaluna Road. In 1971, Glenn was born.
In addition to working full-time as a laborer/irrigator with Pioneer Mill, Luis also worked nights as a dishwasher at Don the Beachcomber Restaurant at the Royal Lahaina Resort until his retirement in 1986. Glenn’s mother, Natividad started working as a housekeeper around the time the eldest, Macario, graduated from Lahainaluna High School in 1974. Initially, she worked at The Travel Lodge but shortly moved to the Whaler Condominium in Kā‘anapali where she worked full-time until her retirement in 1995. Unfortunately, Glenn’s father, Luis passed away at age 71, in April 1995-just a few months before Natividad’s retirement.
The following is Glenn’s personal reflection on his father, Luis Pascual:
My father, Luis was a humble, hard-working man. He always stressed the importance of education despite only having finished the fourth grade back in the Philippines. He was wise, with a very confident authoritative voice. He also had a great sense of humor. He did not smoke, drink, or gamble—an anomaly amongst his fellow Filipino compadres at the time. He showed respect to everyone and though I was young, I sensed that many people in the Lahaina community respected him. He loved boxing and especially wrestling. He enjoyed gardening and building things with his own hands. He was a very loving and caring grandfather to his grandchildren.
My parents always stressed the importance of education. Working as a laborer and housekeeper, my parents knew the ticket to a better life would be through education. Although we were poor, we were never without food, shelter, or support. I remember leaving my schoolwork on the kitchen table for my father to check—whether it was arithmetic or writing. He always checked my work. My father also took it upon himself to get educated, attending night school for adults. In addition to religiously reading his Bannawag magazine (Filipino Magazine, mostly written in Ilokano), we always had an active subscription to Reader’s Digest.
What I appreciated about my parents, especially my father, was that although they stressed the importance of education, they did not dictate what careers we would get into nor limited our extracurricular activities. As such, my eldest brother Macario showed exceptional talent in art at a young age. He became the youngest recipient of a scholarship from the Lahaina Art Society at the age of twelve. He was also an exceptional athlete, excelling in baseball and tennis. Rather than discouraging Macario from pursuing this talent in art and sports and encouraging him to become a doctor or lawyer, he allowed Macario to pursue his passion and utilize his gifts. Ultimately, he earned an art scholarship to the University of Hawai‘i and played collegiate tennis for U.H. To this day, Macario continues to paint (specializing in painting scenes related to the sugar industry and plantation life—a lifelong tribute to our father) and he continues to play and coach tennis. My brothers Conrad, Luis Jr. and Edwin were all exceptional tennis players and students. Edwin was valedictorian at Lahainaluna, class of 1986. All of us five sons graduated from the University of Hawai‘i with four-year college degrees.
My Father’s influence was not limited to his immediate family. As the first to immigrate from the Philippines to Hawai‘i, my Father essentially became the one who petitioned many of my uncles, aunts, and cousins to come to Hawai‘i where they all prospered. They all became integral and meaningful parts of our community in Lahaina—and for those who moved away, they too continued to live the life that my Father encouraged them to lead with these four words in mind, hard-working, humility, education, and family.
What I appreciated about my Father was his humility. He was proud of us, but he never bragged about us. Instead, he would let others brag about us and he would just soak all of that in. He treated everyone fairly—he never looked down on anyone as “below” him. He always treated people the way he wanted to be treated—with respect and dignity. He was humble in another way—while other Filipinos were building huge houses buying nice cars and showing off their designer luxury items, my Father cared nothing for that. He never showed off. For him, why build a two-story house when it would be hard for him and my mother to go up and down the stairs as they got older? Why build a huge house when it appeared that his sons were on their way to getting their own homes and careers? He was very practical.
My one regret about my Father is that he died so young and suddenly. He suffered a stroke at the age of seventy-one while I was away in my first year of law school. He was just a few months away from my Mother’s long-awaited retirement from housekeeping at the Whalers. They had all of these dreams of traveling, going to Las Vegas, and watching their grandchildren grow up. If anyone deserved that in life, it was my Father.
Although he passed almost thirty years ago, my Father’s legacy—his words of wisdom and his example—continues to shape the person I am today. I am sure my brothers feel the same. When our family home in Lahaina burned down on August 8, 2023, my brothers and I were resolute that we could not sell the land. We would never give up what our parents worked so hard for. We would rebuild. We were so relieved when we heard that the marunggay tree that my Father planted when he first purchased the lot in 1967–68 had survived the fire. The tree and our property in Lahaina will continue to remind us who we are, and where we came from and remind us of our Father who laid the foundation of who we are today.
Lucy Peros is a retired schoolteacher, having taught at St. Anthony Grade School and Waihe‘e Elementary School. Both of her late parents, Elpidio Cachero Cabalo (a 1946 Sakada) and Alejandra Cabudoy Cabalo of Hāli‘imaile worked for Maui Land and Pine Company. Lucy now enjoys retirement and has time to join other seniors in the Enhance Fitness Program under the Department of Aging three times a week. She also attends the line dancing class and other activities at Kaunoa and joins other Waihe‘e School retirees when help is needed at the school. Lucy also devotes some of her time to activities at Christ The King Catholic Church. She enjoys writing and reading in her spare time.