Rodney Kwock Mon Lam passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, with the love and aloha of his ohana (family) and friends. Born January 8, 1928, in Honolulu, Hawaii, he enlisted in the Army at age 17 in 1946 and was sent overseas to Germany. Rod served on active duty from 1946 to 1949 and was part of the Army Boxing Team in Bremerhaven. Upon his return he married his sweetheart, Rose Ing and started a family.
After leaving the Regular Army, Rod served in the Army Reserve and was a clerk at Schofield Barracks. He advanced through the ranks to First Sergeant at Fort DeRussy.
Rod spent most of his working life in real estate and was Vice-President of Preferred Properties in Honolulu for many years. In 1974, the family moved to Edmonds to pursue new opportunities in real estate, working for Century 21 McPhersons Realty, Pacific Land and Lake Tapps Realty and later was the broker for Chelan Hills and Lake Chelan Shores resort.
Upon his retirement, Rod enjoyed boxing events, outrigger paddling, travel, walking in the mall, dining out, magic and photography. He paddled for Hui wa’a O Puget Sound for 10 years. Although he started paddling late in life at age 70, as part of a six person team he earned first place in the Golden Masters PNW-ORCA championship race! One of his fondest memories was said by his son, Rocky to be a recent trip to Washington DC in October of 2015, as part of the “Puget Sound Honor Flight” that honored WWII Veterans.