Former Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi passed away on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, at 52. His death was not unexpected –he had been ill with a blood cancer called myelofibrosis, a rare form of leukemia, since 2015. Since then, the former Mayor had had bone marrow transplants (courtesy of two of his five sisters) and spent several months at the City of Hope in Southern California. His passing has left many people throughout the state saddened.
In a June, 2020 discussion with Sherry Bracken, former host of Island Conversations on KWXX and B97/B93, Kenoi talked about his illness in what he said was his first interview in four years. He said when he was first diagnosed, he was still County Mayor, and he didn’t want to let people know he was sick. He said he wanted to finish his term as Mayor “strong.”