Deceased August 5, 2017
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In Memory
David Pellegrin, for decades a media institution as chairman and owner of Honolulu Publishing Co., died Aug. 5 of cardiac arrest following knee surgery. He was 74. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; a son, Adam “Konti” Pellegrin; and a brother, Jonathan Pellegrin. He was born in Woodstock, Ill., and had a lifelong ambition to be a journalist. His dream of becoming a foreign correspondent in China brought him to Hawaii for postgraduate Asian studies via an East-West Center grant, and he later got a job with the Honolulu Advertiser as an editorial writer and then a reporter. In 1977, together with the Wisconsin publishing company where his father was president and minority owner, he purchased the magazine established by King David Kalakaua in 1888 as Paradise of the Pacific, and Honolulu Publishing Co. was born.
Over the years David improved the magazine, built circulation, added titles and eventually acquired sole ownership. His staff grew from six to more than 90. “Dave helped raise the bar for journalists in Hawaii,” wrote Richard Borreca, whom David hired in the early 1980s.
In 1991, David’s first-born son, George, was killed in traffic at age 18. The Compassionate Friends, a national nonprofit bereavement support organization, provided the help David needed, and he became a volunteer for the group. “He was at one point the president of the national board of directors, and he also started the Compassionate Friends Foundation and was Honolulu chapter leader. … He did it all in memory of his son.”
David was also a jazz enthusiast and drummer. “We went to the Monterey Jazz Festival every year,” said Kathleen. Going back perhaps 20 years, he played in a band, the Psychedelic Relics, composed of daytime professionals and wannabe musicians when they could find a gig.
Kathleen Pellegrin