WAIMEA, Kaua'i — One of West Kaua'i's most memorable characters, Albert Kekua "Pepito" Makuaole, died in his sleep Feb. 8 after an 81-year lifetime of living life pretty much the way he wanted.

"Pepito" to some and "Uncle Albert" to others, Makuaole lived in a taro patch shack deep in Makaweli Valley, with a mule, at various times 20 to 40 pig-hunting dogs, and without electricity.

He was born June 20, 1925, in Waimea and was a Hawaiian renaissance man, friends said: a pig and goat hunter with a comprehensive knowledge of Kaua'i's mountains; a committed reader who was current on world affairs; a man steeped in Hawaiian traditions; a retired Navy World War II coxswain.

He lived simply and never worked much, but was an accomplished explosives expert, or "powder man." One of the crowd of Waimea Valley kids who learned to hunt from Makuaole, Jim Cassell Jr., said he watched Makuaole dig a ditch with dynamite: "It went off, and the dirt just flopped up on the bank. It was amazing."

Pepito was also a heavy drinker who seldom drove, and often got around town on horseback. "He would ride into the bar on his horse and order a beer," said his nephew's wife, Sandra Makuaole.

His simple shack surrounded by taro fields was a gathering place for local kids.

"For a lot of Waimea Valley kids, he was the uncle they never had," Cassell said.

Entertainers seemed to gravitate to the man and his humble wood-frame shack.

"Every musician on the island, they ended up at his place," Sandra Makuaole said.

His pig hunting exploits were memorialized in a 1986 Life Magazine article, "Dogging the Wild Boar," which featured a photo of him, sitting astride his mule, with his rifle at hand and hunting dogs standing all around. National Geographic in 2002 featured a shot of a group of Hawaiian kupuna who visited his shack and ended up dancing a hula for him.

"What he represented was a person still living in the past. He was a character, a lovely person. He was just living in the old way," said Aletha Kaohi, Waimea's retired librarian, whose son learned to hunt from Makuaole.

The man would read the way he hunted pig — with total commitment. Kaohi remembers bringing Makuaole boxes of books at a time from the library. Sandra Makuaole said she bought books at every library book sale, and also brought them to Uncle Albert by the box.

SIMPLE, BUT WORLDLY

"Any time I went up there, he had books. All he ever did was read books. He only had a 10th-grade education, but he was very well-educated, and he could hold his own in any conversation," Sandra Makuaole said.

"For someone who lived a very simple life, he was very worldly," said Hawaiian cultural expert Sabra Kauka.

Some folks say Makuaole was descended from Kaua'i's last king, Kaumuali'i; others say he is descended from regional chiefs. He himself explained to Life magazine writer Claudia Glenn Dowling that the family name, meaning "without parents," refers to a time when "we lost the throne and became orphans of the village."

He had girlfriends, but never married. "He was married to his mule," Cassell joked.

He had been ailing for the past year — but he refused to leave what Kauka called "his dogs, his taro patch and his taro patch house."

"He was a man who had very little, but he was very proud. I think he was happy being who he was," Sandra Makuaole said.

He is survived by brothers George Keoki of Wai'anae and Melvin Kealoha Makuaole of Kailua; sisters Grace Koonohi Acain of Kekaha and Eula Hannah Sapir of Wai'anae; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Friends may call from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Garden Island Mortuary chapel; service 11 a.m. Private burial will follow at the family plot at Kanekula, Waimea Valley. The family asks that people bring a story to share of their experiences with "Uncle Pepito." No flowers. Casual attire.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.