Nanilei Elizabeth Camarena died Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010, at North Big Horn Hospital, with her family by her side. She was born Feb. 23,1940. She grew up in Hawaii. She was an English major and a marine biologist-she earned three degrees. She was very intelligent and used her wisdom as a nurse, biologist and a whale watching tour guide. She also developed safety programs for dangerous beaches in Maui. She always loved helping in the rescue of marine animals.
She moved to Oregon with her three daughters. There she met Arturo Camarena. Her dream was to be a logger’s wife, which she fulfilled on March 22, 1979.
She loved to entertain. She and Art traveled all over Oregon doing their Hawaiian musical shows. Her specialty was a comedic hula dance.
When she married Arturo, she inherited his three children.
Nani and Art moved to Lovell 15 years ago. She loved watching birds and exploring the mountains, oceans and all of nature. Her three favorite places in the Lovell area were the Big Horn Mountains, the wild mustang range and the Big Horn Canyon.
Nani left us with these words: “I thank you for being my loving friends and family. May you be blessed always. I will watch over all of you always. I have so much to be thankful for.”
“May God watch over all of you as I always will love all of you. Forgive me if I repeat myself, but I feel so much love for all of you that my heart is bursting. It will be hard to leave you all.
“Please take good care of my cats. They love us so much. I’ll see them some day again, as I will all of you.
“Thank you, God, for wonderful sons and daughters and grandsons that I will love forever.
“Last, but never least, Art, I cannot find all of the words I want to say for you marrying me, giving me so much love and companionship, so much caring and a home in my life. ‘Thank you’ is not enough for giving a loving home to my children and for giving them a loving father. Bless you so much forever.
“Love always, God bless and love forever.”
Memorial services were held Monday, Jan. 11, 2010, at Haskell Funeral Home in Lovell.