In the heart of Honolulu, in the spring of 1927, Aunty Dorothy—Dorothy Chun Mau—came into the world, born to first-generation Chinese immigrants who had made Hawai‘i their home. Though the city was her birthplace, it was the small town of Palama where her roots grew deep, under the wide, sheltering limbs of a giant banyan tree.
“By the banyan tree, surrounded by four churches,” she always says with a smile. That was her childhood—simple, spiritual, and full of song.
School was never her favorite thing, especially when it interrupted her wanderings. She did not enroll in or attend her home school, Farrington—until a truant officer spotted her roaming on a school day. “I told him I went to Roosevelt,” she laughs, “so that’s where I ended up!” She had passed the English written and oral tests for Roosevelt High School, and that’s where she stayed. It was at Roosevelt where she eventually earned her GED, proving that the path to learning doesn’t always follow a straight line.
Education, however, found a permanent place in her life. Dorothy went on to graduate from the University of Hawai‘i—an achievement she never brags about, but wears like a quiet badge of honor.
In 1949, she married James On Mau, her steady and beloved partner until his passing in 2006. Together, they raised four children—two boys and two girls—in a home filled with love, music, and the comforting aroma of home-cooked meals. Family was always at the center of Dorothy’s world.
Dorothy dedicated her working life to helping children with special needs, teaching at Mā‘ema‘e and Nimitz Elementary Schools. “Those kids taught me more than I ever taught them,” she says. She retired in 1984, but retirement never meant slowing down.
For the last 27 years, Aunty Dorothy has been a fixture at the Lanakila Multi-Purpose Senior Center (LMPSC). It’s where she sings and strums the ‘ukulele with the Happy Senior Serenaders, where she finds community, and where she continues to give back. In 2023, she was named Outstanding Volunteer of the Year, an honor she humbly accepted with her signature bright grin.
Her secret to life? “Be happy, eat well, and exercise,” she declares with a wink. And she means it. She celebrated her 98th birthday on May 24, and still lives independently in a cozy studio in Kaimukī. Her daughter Beverly and grandson live just upstairs. “Family is forever,” she says, and hers is close in both heart and distance.
This year, Dorothy picked up a new instrument—the guitar. “You’re never too young to stop learning,” she insists, plucking chords with calloused fingers and a twinkle in her eye.
While she mostly uses Catholic Charities Hawai‘i’s Kupuna Transportation Service, there was that one morning… She wanted to visit a friend in Mānoa, and Dorothy didn’t want to wake anyone. So, she quietly took her daughter’s car. It was early, the streets were quiet, and maybe she was driving a little fast. A police officer pulled her over.
“Hey Aunty,” he said gently, “you were going 40 in a 25 zone.”
She chuckled. “That was the end of my driving career,” she says now. “But I still have my license!”
At nearly a century old, Aunty Dorothy is more than a kupuna. She is a living bridge—between generations, between cultures, between music and memory. Whether she’s volunteering, strumming her ‘ukulele, or laughing with her great-grandkids, her message remains the same: Live well. Love often. And never stop learning.
