Josefa Moe

Moe was born "on the road" in Jubbulpore, India to Samoan father Pulu and Filipino/Hawaiian mother Louisa, then musical stars touring with Felix Mendelssohn’s Hawaiian Serenaders.

After a comedic vaudeville stint in England teamed with brilliant comedian/impressionist Maurice Sellar and pop-eyed actor Marty Feldman, young Josefa relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii (1955) with his father Pulu.

There Josefa served as a local "beach boy", entertaining elite tourists of the day with song, dance, tours and surfing instruction.

As a sometime actor, he was often approached to play local Hawaiian thugs in shows like Hawaii Five-O but was relegated to non-speaking roles once his elegant British accent was revealed.

Josefa loved nothing more than to set up easel and airbrush on a busy sidewalk in Waikiki to “talk story” while custom painting cartoons and caricatures on T-shirts "while-u-watched."

Josefa was a fixture at the Kamehameha and Aloha swap meets for decades where he would paint T-shirts and bracelets while enjoying one of his lifelong joys; people-watching.

Coincidentally, the ashes of friend and fellow entertainer Don Ho were scattered at Queen's Surf beach a week after Josefa's memorial (May 5, 2007).

Josefa Moe is survived by his 11 children: Brian, Joseph, Daniel, Robin, Jaymie, Christopher, Kalani, Taui, Tammy, Kaipo and Cheyne Mo'e.