United States Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, a former graduate of the University of Hawaii, passed away this month at 88.
"This was an extraordinary man with a legacy which will never be surpassed. His lifelong devotion to the university of his home land is well known," said University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood in a statement, following Inouye's death.
"He was our most distinguished graduate and we are the grateful beneficiaries of the generosity he showed to us for decades. His longstanding support for the university and its new programs contributed immensely to the university's international reputation and helped make it one of the premier research institutions in the nation and the world. His contributions to us can simply not be measured," Greenwood said.
Senator Daniel Inouye graduated from the University of Hawaii in Mānoa in 1950. He has been serving at the state office since Hawaii became a state in 1959. He was suffering from a prolonged illness for a while and was hospitalized early this month.
The senator's office explained that in the late 1960s, Inouye was misdiagnosed with lung cancer and had a sizable portion of his left lung removed. After living with this his whole life, about nine months ago his doctors recommended he begin using an oxygen supplement, reported ABC News.
"On a personal note, our hearts go out to his family and his devoted staff and we grieve along with them. Senator Inouye was a man of great compassion and dignity. It was a privilege for me to have known him. He left his mark on the world and changed the lives of many for the better. We are grateful that he passed our way and left his legacy, and we will always be in his debt. And now we must go forward as he would have expected us to do," Greenwood added.
