Life at KEY Project: In Memory of Ted Talbot

A sign for the Friendship Garden, home of the Dudley Talbott Trail, built by Ted

Ted and his wife Alice and friends

The Honolulu Friends Meeting of The Religious Society of Friends hosted a memorial in memory of Ted Talbot, in the KEY Project pavilion, Saturday. Ted Talbott passed away on Feb. 10. Those present at the memorial recognized him as a loving husband and father, a humorous CPA, a bold lobbyist, and a deeply spiritual man.

The Friends, also know as Quakers, conducted the ceremonies and facilitated the memorial in such a way that silence and audience participation allowed those in the room to form beautiful, warm, and cheerful, personal resolutions for Ted's life.

Early in the morning on the day of the memorial I caught a bus out to Kaneohe, and then I road my bike a short distance, up a steep hill, through a residential area, to a somewhat obscure spot, the Friendship Garden.

Map of the Garden trails

The Garden won a Betty Crocker Landscape Award in 2004, sponsored by Scenic Hawai'i, and was honored with the following:

On ten sloping acres above kaneohe bay on windward Oahu, Friendship Garden is a perfect retreat with views of Kaneohe Bay and only birdsong and bamboo within earshot. A tea house, stone lantern, pavilion, lava stone platform steps and the replica of a large ornamental stone basin donated by a Japanese university add to the garden's natural attractions.

One of many picturesque forest staircases in the garden,
this staircase is constructed with recycled curbstones acquired in the
1970's from the widening of King Street.

Ted cleared the Dudley Talbott Trail near the top of the hillside. I navigated the small loops of trails that meandered through the natural garden and wound my way up to the top. Established in 1927, the side of a grassy hill, the garden demonstrates a rare natural beauty, with local plant life of all sorts, and with name plaques to help visitors identify them. The Dudley Talbott Trail is the highest on the hillside and runs nearly one-half mile. Ted created this trail in memory of his great-grandfather, Dudley Talbott. It offered great views of the surrounding area, and even had a geo-cache treasure box a little off the way.

An ammo box serves as geo-cache near the Ridge Lookout

On the way down I spoke with a man named Jack, who was caring for the garden. He knew Ted but was unaware that he had past away. I informed him of the memorial that would be held in his memory only an hour or two later. Jack dropped everything and attended the memorial to honor Ted. There he recounted the day when Ted began work on the garden: he said that he had a desk job and wanted to get out and help out, so he spent the next 15 years clearing the Dudley Talbott Trail and helping with the Garden.

An anonymous note remarks on the spirit of the Garden and trails.