LAHAINA – Edwin “Ed” Lindsey Jr. died peacefully in his sleep on June 24. He was 70. His family and friends held several prayer circles in his family’s home on Front Street prior to his passing.

They sang Hawaiian songs and played ukulele as they expressed their love for the man, who many community members called “Uncle Ed.”

Born in 1939 to West Maui cultural leaders Rose Keliihonipua Wright “Aunty Pua” Lindsey and Edwin R. Naleilehua “Uncle Ned” Lindsey, Ed is the second of five children.

He attended Kamehameha Schools on Maui and Western State College of Colorado at Gunnison.

He returned to Maui and taught in Hana for four years, and then taught social studies and Hawaiian at Iao School in Wailuku for 25 years.

Ed and friends have a vision to create an ahupua’a in Lahaina – an ancient system designed to allow all communities equal access to natural resources from the mountains to the sea.