Impacting Lives, One Volunteer at a Time
How volunteer Tatsuo Muneto voyages with patients and their families
Staring out at the blossoming orchid plant settled on his living room coffee table, Kona Bob smiled peacefully at the sight. He was a man of kind words and an unshakable positive disposition, something that patient care volunteer Tatsuo Muneto will always remember about Kona Bob, who passed away in 2018. And while Bob’s story has been shared many times since his passing, it’s stories of volunteers like Tatsuo that may go unheard, but are every bit as inspiring.
Born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan, Tatsuo moved to Hawaii in 1965 after completing his Buddhist ministry training. For 50 years, he served as a Buddhist minister for Kona Hongwanji Buddhist temple and Honpa Hongwanji before retiring and joining the Navian Hawaii team as a patient care volunteer, where he provides respite care and companionship for patients and their loved ones. It is in this capacity that he came to know Kona Bob.
“I became close to Bob, who had received guidance from a few people whom I also knew as members of Kona Hongwanji,” said Tatsuo. “He had a very positive attitude toward his health, and together we shared a reverence for life.”
While providing companionship to Kona Bob, Tatsuo made valuable memories that he will hold dear for the rest of his life, one of which was visiting the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum together. Formerly in the Air Force, Kona Bob was deeply interested in aviation, a passion that Tatsuo also shared. After discussing their mutual love of planes and flight, Tatsuo took Kona Bob to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, where they enjoyed wandering the exhibits and learning together.
This reverence for life is a concept Tatsuo returns to as both a former Buddhist minister as well as a Navian Hawaii volunteer. Living by the credence that human life holds deep value, Tatsuo thus has a rich reverence for life, which is what inspired him to volunteer with Navian Hawaii in the first place.
“By working as a volunteer assisting patients, I’m able to fulfill my purpose in life,” said Tatsuo. “Human life always comes to an end, but hospice is a way to end our physical presence on earth in a peaceful way, by offering support, care, love and kindness to patients and their loved ones.”