PIONEER – SURFING

Hawai’i’s most prominent female surfer, Rell Kapoiloka’ehukai Sunn was loved by all. Sunn was the founder of the Menehune Future Legends at Makaha Beach, her favorite surfing spot.

She was one of the first female lifeguards for the City and County of Honolulu. Sunn was honored on the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame. On September 24, 1991, she was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame.

Sunn, the international surfing legend whose generosity embodied the aloha spirit, lost her 14-year battle with breast cancer and died at age 47. She was a familiar voice on the radio as a surf reporter. Sunn worked as physical therapist for senior citizens at a Wai’anae care home and was a counselor at the Wai’anae Cancer Research Center.