Interview with Roberto Hera

Abstract

Roberto Hera, second of four children, was born in 1936 in Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaiʻi, where his maternal grandparents farmed coffee. His mother, Marcellina Hera, was raised and educated on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. His father, Florentino Hera, originally from Cebu, Philippines, received a degree in engineering from the University of Chicago. In 1937, the Heras moved to Lānaʻi where Florentino Hera was employed as an agricultural engineer by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. He also served as branch manager of the Filipino Federation of America. Roberto Hera was raised and educated on Lānaʻi. Following his high school graduation in 1954, he attended college for a short while, worked in Honolulu, and entered military service. Returning to Lānaʻi in the mid-1960s, he started his decades-long career with Dole Pineapple Company. He worked in virtually every department until his retirement in 1990 as a superintendent. After a few years with the Nature Conservancy, he was coaxed to return to Dole as Director of Facilities. Retired for a second time in 1999, he remains active with ʻIke Aina, Native Hawaiian Land Trust, on Lānaʻi. He has seven children, thirteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.