Eric Maiefski “was truly the best man I have ever known,” says Christina Henline.
Maiefski, an outdoor enthusiast, surfer, swimmer and arborist, was killed in a work-related accident on Dec. 5. He was 39.
“We are all having a hard time coming to terms with Eric's passing as he became such an important part of our Big Island community,” Henline, who was in a relationship with him for seven years and remained closed to Maiefski, told Ohana Times. “He was truly loved by so many people and in such a short time of being in Hawaii he had created so many beautiful relationships with people of all ages. He always took the time to talk to his clients and friends, he was such a good listener. He was always smiling and joking and was an inspiration to so many people.”
They met in Australia in 2011.
“I went with my sister Alana to check out a room for rent in Palm Beach on the Gold Coast. It was at a house on 15th Avenue, right on the beach," she said. “Eric happened to come home from work for lunch and we started to talk. Once I realized he was from Hawaii we hit it off. I had been living in Australia since 2002 and it wasn't often that I met other people from Hawaii who were living there. We quickly realized we had mutual friends and that we both grew up on the Big Island. I gave him my phone number and suggested we catch up for a beer or a surf sometime.”
They began to surf and camp together. Within a year, they were living together on the Gold Coast.
“We were always going on road trips, and camping adventures and travelled to Hawaii, as well as to Fiji and New Zealand before we decided to move back to the Big Island," Henline said. "Eric was born in California but when he was 3, his family moved to the Big Island. They started Big Island Tortillas and ran a successful business for years. He went to Malamalama [the Waldorf school in Puna]. He was an amazing mountain biker and was one of the best on the island.”
When he was about 15, his family moved to Bellingham, Washington, where they currently live. Eric traveled the world, living in Costa Rica and sailing from New Zealand to Hawaii.
“When Eric and I moved back to the Big Island in 2015, we lived in Kawaihae Village. He started his own tree company, Mana Tree Service, and built an amazing reputation as an experienced professional,” Henline said. “All of his customers grew to really love and respect him as he had a way of communicating with his clients and creating masterpieces on their properties. He loved his job more than most people I know and he lived and breathed trees. He couldn't wait to wake up each morning to get to work.”
Henline said he was “the biggest supporter of my business, Sun Dot Marine, a family business I took over in 2016.”
She said Maiefski was “one of the safest and most experienced arborists most of us have ever known,” which makes his death so difficult to understand.
“In many ways it is a beautiful thing that he died doing what he loved, but at the same time, it is so hard to come to terms with because he was so good at what he did,” Henline said. “The place in Puako where the accident happened is also a very surreal and beautiful place. It was between the Hokuloa Church [built in 1858] and the ocean — less than 10 feet away from the ocean. The spot looks out onto Kawaihae and Waialea Bay [Beach 69s] his favorite place to surf.
“Most days, it is calm and so peaceful, that many people have spent time there, leaving flowers and lei in his honor. We plan to create a small memorial area, with a wooden bench and a small garden so that we can visit the spot and remember his spirit. I think it is a miracle that the first responders/firemen to arrive on scene were a few of Eric’s good friends. It could have been anyone who could have responded and I find peace in knowing that Koa Eskaran and Jake Penny were by his side. They did everything they could, and more and we are so lucky to have such amazing people here in our islands helping to keep us safe.”
His best friend, Traveler Terpening, has done much to help Maiefski’s family, she said.
“He worked alongside Eric a few days a week and was kind of like an apprentice to Eric," Henline said. "They grew up together, both going to Malamalama School and loving the outdoors, often fishing and hunting together. Trav helped deal with some of the logistics after he passed and prepared Eric's house for his family's arrival from the mainland. The way I have seen his friends, like Trav, come together to help in this time really reflects what a great person Eric was. Another friend, Eddie Rhuland, made a beautiful urn out of milo and ohia wood. Dave Alipio designed a logo that reflected Eric and his business and way of living 'Be Mana.'”
The word “Mana” in Hawaiian is a term known as spiritual energy of power and strength.
“We used the logo to make hats and stickers that were also given out to our ohana [family] at his celebration of life,” Henline said.
They celebrated his life, she said, with a paddle out at Waialea Bay [Beach 69s] on Dec. 20, the morning Halemaumau began erupting again. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and large gatherings being a worry, they wanted to do something to honor his life and felt that outside, at his favorite beach and place to surf, was the best option.
“It really was a perfect day,” Henline said. “His family [Margaret and Steve, his mom and dad, and his younger brother David, and his older brother Ethan alongside his wife Heather and their kids Rowan and Emma were able to be there and feel the love Eric's community had for him. I had a good friend Nino Ka’ai play his ukulele throughout the day, and everyone came together with more flowers and lei than I could have ever imagined!”
Cynthia Ho of Keep Puako Beautiful organized a morning beach cleanup in his honor as they had regularly participated in her beach cleanups over the years. Friends came with truckloads of coconuts which were opened on the beach for everyone. He also loved avocados and there were hundreds there on the beach for people to take home with them after the event.
“So many friends came together to make the day truly special and unforgettable and I'm sure he was smiling down on all of us,” Henline said. “As a closing we paddled out into the bay, making a circle and we sang ‘Hawai'i Aloha’ together before silently thinking of our intentions before placing our flowers and lei in the ocean and saying our final goodbyes. One of my favorite moments that day was when his father placed his ashes in the water. A set appeared at the point and the best party wave [when more than one person shares a wave at the same time] happened as his ashes became part of the ocean. I have never seen a party wave quite like it at this spot and it warmed my heart.”
‘A genuine friend’
While Koa Eskaran is still stunned at his friend’s death, good memories have comforted him.
“Eric and I have known each other for about five years. In those five years, we’ve had some good times together,” he said. “Our favorite thing to do was to surf. He always made me feel like I was surfing way better than I actually was and that always made me laugh out in the lineup. Eric was always so positive and kept the stoke alive.
”He was so positive out there and always had a lot of surfing buddies everywhere he paddled out. No matter how busy Eric was with life, he always had time to hang out and have a few cold beers with me. He was a genuine friend and I’m going to miss all the good times we’ve had together."
Eskaran added, “He really cared about everyone he met, no matter how young or old. Even if he was busy with life, he made time for conversation, and he was always engaged in every one he had. His smile, positive attitude and friendship will be missed by all who have had the pleasure to know him.”
Maiefski is being honored and remembered in other places as well, Henline said.
“Our surfing community is such a wonderful thing and it extends all over the world,” she said. “My sister [who still lives in Australia] planned a paddle out in his honor a few days before our paddle out at Currumbin Beach and this also was a beautiful day. It had been raining and flooding for a few days there and so they had to move the location from 15th Avenue in Palm Beach to another location. As they were in the circle out on the ocean, the sky cleared and the sun came out for a brief moment.”
Henline said she is hanging onto miracles she recalls and remains grateful for having been a big part of Maiefski's life.
“I never doubted that we would always be a part of each other’s lives and be friends forever,” she said. “He taught me so many of life’s lessons, the feelings of true love while we were together and deep. It's a painful heartache with his passing. I think of him each day and now live my life to honor him. I have pledged to work harder, surf more, be a better listener and to take the time to ‘talk story’ with the people around me. I understand now more than ever, that life is short, and precious.”
Henline said she still feels Maiefski’s presence.
“I know that he is all around us and he sends me rainbows all the time to remind me that he cares,” she said. “One day I saw 10 rainbows in the same day, 13 if I count the double rainbows. It is so hard to lose someone you love and to come to terms with it, and maybe you never do, I'm really not sure ... but remembering him and honoring the legacy he left behind is something that I am so grateful for.”