Popular and loved University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Gateway House café head cashier Aunty Eloise Luzader died on February 15, at 96. Luzader is remembered for her warm and welcoming personality as she greeted students and customers at the café for nearly 30 years.
Luzader retired from Gateway House café at 95-years-old and stated that the students her favorite part of her job. She viewed them as her grandbabies, effortlessly remembering the names of thousands of them and making them feel her care and aloha. In addition to her cashiering duties, she also served as an unofficial matchmaker of Mānoa, bringing together three successful couples.
To return Luzader’s love, students would bring her gifts and lei, take and share photos with her, and most importantly, spend time with her even after they graduated from UH Mānoa.
“She always put a smile on my face, always said hello, always hugged me. She’s pretty much family to me now,” said alumna Taylor Hiraga at Luzader’s retirement celebration. “Here at Gateway Café, Aunty Eloise is a staple—she’s the face of Gateway Café and she’s always been for the last 30 years.”
An adventure-filled life
Luzader’s son, Gary, compiled photo galleries of her well-documented life in a memorial website dedicated to her. He shared major moments, from her growing up in Hilo, to journeying to New York, to her return to Hawaiʻi while she ultimately discovered the activities she loved most.
“She was funny, she was generous, and she was loving,” wrote Gary. “She drove me nuts like no other person could, and she also loved me like no other person could…that’s what ‘moms’ do I guess. When I look back at her life through the photos, Mom’s life was incredible.”
Luzader spent much of her life exploring the world and different job opportunities that allowed her to interact with others. She touched ground in countries in almost every continent and touched the hearts of those she met while doing sales work. Aside from family and friends, her main constant was dancing.
“Mom had a passion for dancing…any kind of dancing,” Gary wrote. “Mom danced well into her 90s. Even in her final days when she couldn’t even walk, Mom would talk about dancing one day again… She will…”
Read more about Aunty Eloise at her memorial website.
