A Celebration of Life:
Bishop Stephen Randolph Sykes
A great friend of the Forgiveness
Project -- a regular
contributor at many of our annual Forgiveness Day Festivals since they
began in 2003 -- has passed away. We will miss his distinctive profile,
his warm laugh, his helping hands, and great knowledge.
After a five-year battle with pulmonary fibrosis,
Randolph Stephen
Randolph Sykes passed away April 21, 2022 at Queen's Hospital,
surrounded by his
family and much love. He was 71 years old.
Born in Pasadena, CA on January 26, 1951, he grew
up in Baldwin Park,
CA where he attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School. He leaned to
play the piano at a young age and he later became the organist for St.
John's. He attended Our Lady of the Angels Seminary and graduated with
a BA from Loyola University of Los Angeles.
After a successful career at Bank of America in San
Francisco, he moved
to Kauai in 1989. He worked at the Hawaii Department of Transportation
and helped to implement the bus system on the island. In 1994 he moved
to Oahu and was employed by the Oahu Metropolitan Planning
Organization. He loved his day job, but was also fulfilling his desire
to serve in the ministry.
In 1999 he was ordained a priest and in 2001 was
consecrated as an
Orthodox Bishop of Honolulu and All Hawaii for the Inclusive Orthodox
Church.
Bishop Sykes was very involved with the Interfaith
Alliance Hawaii and
was President from 2015-2018. He was still actively involved as a
sitting Board member.
A published author, Randolph co-wrote "Charting
your Goals: Personal
Life-Goals Planner" with his partner Dan Dahl.
Randolph was preceded in death by his parents,
Joseph and Marguerite
Sykes, his longtime partner Dan Dahl, and his brother William Sykes. He
is survived by his husband Hisashi Tokunaga of Honolulu, sister
Rochelle Bayless of California, brother Philip of Missouri, nephews
Daniel, Matthew, Mark, niece Samantha, many cousins and treasured
friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Cathedral
of St. Andrew
Episcopal Church (Honolulu) on Friday, May 20, 2022 at 10:00 am.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Hawaii Council of Churches
Fund (HCCF) or the Institute for Human Services Hawaii (IHS).
Blessings in your onward journey, Bishop Sykes.
Hawai'i International Forgiveness Day is
an annual family
festival,
celebrating the healing power of forgiveness. The theme for 2022:
Communities of Forgiveness.
Sponsored by the Hawaii Forgiveness Project