She was born in Honolulu, the Kingdom of Hawaii, to Native Hawaiian mother Kuhilani Awai Kanaina (1861–1930), and Swedish sea captain father Andrew A. Rosehill (1851–1913) .

[1] Educated at Kaahumanu Elementary and Kawaiahaʻo Seminary for Girls, she was employed as a book binder at the Advertiser Publishing Company in Honolulu when she met Maui sheriff Peter Noa Kahokuoluna.

Advocating the church as a positive factor in the community, Kahokuoluna encouraged congregational involvement in local sports activities, scouting, music and other social outlets.

At the request of the congregants, the Hawaiian Evangelical Association officially ordained her into the ministry in 1925, the first woman the organization had ever admitted into the clergy.

While searching through the abandoned ruins, Alice and Floyd McHenry, a naturalist affiliated with the Bishop Museum,[9] discovered a vault beneath its foundation.

[10] Japan's 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, and the United States entry into World War II, caused a shortage of needed building supplies for the restoration effort.

She was said to be "a Hawaiian of quiet distinction, a vigorous, understanding woman of conviction and courage, but with a saving smile in her eyes ... "[6] Upon her 1957 death of cancer, a bronze plaque was created by Kanaana Hou Church to commemorate her life's service.