George Martin Gouveia, son of John Gouveia and Virginia DeGuair, was born in 1927 and raised in Holualoa, Hawaii. George is the fourth of six children in his family. George married the love of his life, Henrietta Rodrigues, and together they have two daughters, Claudette and Pearl. George has three grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
George left home in 1947 to join the Army and was drafted to the Korean war. Upon returning home, George worked for Palani Ranch as a Cowboy and did that for 12 years. He then went to work for Sure Save Supermarket as a butcher and retired after 15 years. After retirement, George enjoyed helping his brother-in-law at his landscaping nursery. You could often find George gathering and preparing lauhala leaves for his wife to weave. Another passion of George is being a Kona Coffee farmer, which he has done for many years.
George is also a rodeo cowboy and enjoys the sport with his family and friends. He was titled Po’o Wai U champion in 1973 and 1975, though his favorite rodeo event is team roping.
In the late 60’s, George and Henrietta built their forever home on family land on Palani road where he currently resides. George will always be a working man and can still be found in his shed doing Koa wood working. George is happy to report that he is blessed with his health and will be 97 years young this year.
Riding behind George today are his sister, his daughters, his grandchildren and most of his great grandchildren, along with their families, extended family and close friends.