Robert Michael Mondoy's Obituary
Robert Michael Mondoy was born on January 4, 1952 to parents Emily Anne (Frese) and John Joseph Mondoy; the eldest of six children: Patrick, Paula, Timothy, Roy and Teresa. He was raised on Molokai in Kualapuʻu village plantation camp before the family moved up to Kalaʻe.
As a precocious child, he collected shells and catalogued them, keeping them organized in containers and displays. He taught himself origami and calligraphy and led his siblings on many adventures.
His parents had him exposed to music early on, and at his own request, he started studying piano with a neighbor. Advancing quickly he excelled in his music studies. Kanikapila came naturally to those in the Mondoy family and usually everyone would join in singing and playing after the extended family meals.
Robert started high school at the Sacred Hearts Minor Seminary in Hauʻula on Oʻahu. During the summer, he would return to Molokai to work in the pineapple fields and would play organ at church just like his father.
After high school he attended Chaminade University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, eventually earning a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance. He would later leave the Sacred Hearts Congregation to earn a Master’s degree in composition from San Francisco State University. In San Francisco he also served as music minister at Mater Dolorosa Church.
He faithfully served as Director of Music at St. John Vianney Parish in Kailua since 1980. With his Molokai connection he would take members of his music ministry to what became more than just annual visits to the Kalaupapa settlement. Over time they became close friends with many of the patient residents there.
Robert was a prolific musician, composer, director and arranger of sacred music who brought an enthusiastic infusion of island culture into his life’s work. Whether he was pounding on a piano or pipe organ, strumming an ukulele or singing with full voice in churches across the diocese, Mondoy’s liturgical music beautifully blended styles and eras. His work could be solemnly traditional and joyfully local, sometimes with a “chalangalang” flair. Producing songs that combined ʻŌlelo Hawaii with English lyrics was his way of proudly saying, “This is the Catholic Church. This is Hawaii. This is who we are.”
Robert led the diocesan choirs for the Beatification and Canonization of our local Molokai Saints: Saint Damien and Saint Marianne Cope, historic moments of grace in the life of the Church in Hawaiʻi. Through his leadership, ordinations, episcopal liturgies, and countless diocesan celebrations were marked by reverence, beauty, and sacred song. His compositions continue to give voice to the prayer of the faithful throughout Hawaiʻi and far beyond. Beyond his compositions, one of Robert's greatest legacies live on in the generations of young musicians he mentored, inspired, and formed in the service of the Church.
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