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For the first several years of his gig as the radio play-by-play voice of University of Hawaii volleyball, Tiff Wells sat adjacent to sports reporter Cindy Luis on press row at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Some might cringe at the prospect of proximity to one’s parent while on the job. But Wells, an only child, saw it the opposite way; he never took those moments next to his mother for granted.
“It was something we always joked about, that we saw each other more at the arena than we did at the house,” Wells said between tears and laughs in a phone call Sunday. “It’s always been something that was so special to us.”
Many others joined Wells in issuing tributes and fond remembrances on Sunday for Luis, a pioneer for woman sportswriters in Hawaii who died unexpectedly at her Enchanted Lake home sometime overnight. She was 70.
Wells said he was told by first responders that she passed peacefully. It came as a devastating surprise; Luis had said she wanted to attend Saturday night’s University of Hawaii men’s volleyball match against USC, but did not appear.
That alone was not cause for alarm, but when Luis, an avid paddler, didn’t meet with friends for their regular Sunday morning stroking session off the coast of Lanikai, they grew concerned and some went to check on her.
“It caught everybody off guard. I’m right there with everybody about how shocking and just how quick it happened,” Wells said.
When Luis was named sports editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 1999, she became the first female leader of a sports department in Hawaii. She was also the first woman sportswriter at the historic newspaper that merged with the Honolulu Advertiser in 2010.
Her death came one week after that of longtime radio broadcaster Bobby Curran and continued a trend of losses of Hawaii sports media personalities. A moment of silence was held for Luis before Sunday’s UH baseball game against UC Santa Barbara at Les Murakami Stadium. That was when many learned the news.
“It’s how she would have wanted to go out,” Wells said. “As much as she loved covering volleyball, she really loved baseball.”
Ann Miller, Luis’ longtime friend and competitor from their days as volleyball beat writers at the two daily newspapers, was stunned to learn of her passing while on a trip in the Bay Area. She recalled speaking to Luis in recent days and thinking that she was her usual spirited self. Luis was already talking about hosting friends for her annual birthday get-together in December.
Miller and Luis, forever intertwined by their shared career path, were inducted into the UH Sports Circle of Honor together last May.
Miller had trouble describing the sensation of Luis’ passing within a year of the induction, which came with an outpouring of goodwill from the volleyball community.
“There’s so many kids that she’s had a positive effect on,” Miller said. “Probably … changed a few lives, even in some small way. And you know, that’s not what we were there to do, but she took (that responsibility) so seriously.”
Luis described last May seeing Rainbow Wahine coach and former standout setter Robyn Ah Mow get emotional at the ceremony.
Luis told Spectrum News then of what she said to Ah Mow: “You know, Coach, you have a lot to do with it. Ann will tell you the same thing, because you guys were so good, we had to be good. It made us better writers because the level of volleyball demanded that we be good. I owe you guys a lot for making me better.”
The San Diego native and proud UCLA graduate came to Hawaii for Gannett Newspapers, then owner of the Star-Bulletin, after working three years at the Gannett-owned Pacific Daily News in Guam.
She had an affinity for wordplay and would often try to catch a reader’s attention by writing a lede paragraph in a staccato style — a series of short sentences, sometimes just one or two words each, from which she would broaden the scope of a game story or player feature.
“She could always put a spin on a game that was interesting, even the losses and lopsided wins,” legendary Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji told Spectrum News in a statement (see below for full version). “She will be missed in the volleyball community as well as others she touched.”
She made several impactful hires as editor and willingly handed off the responsibility to Paul Arnett in 2001. She remained on staff through the 2010 merger into the Star-Advertiser. Prior to her retirement from the paper in 2020, Luis took it upon herself to guide up-and-coming writers and part-timers.
Arnett told Spectrum News he first experienced Luis’ kindness as a visiting beat writer covering UNLV at the Maui Classic in 1988.
“(I) once told her that whoever replaced her when she didn’t want to be sports editor anymore would be well set up because of all the good hires she had made,” Arnett wrote (see below for full statement). “At the time, I never imagined that would be me.”
After retiring from the newspaper — with the occasional freelance column as an exception — Luis continued to write about UH volleyball on her personal blog through 2022, with coverage of back-to-back national championships for the UH men’s volleyball team in 2021 and 2022 a meaningful capstone.
Luis also covered a variety of beats over the decades including UH basketball and baseball.
She had an enduring soft spot for underdogs. She covered the big stuff — NCAA Tournament appearances, Pro Bowls, Hula Bowls and Maui Invitationals — and the little guys alike, with special attention bestowed to small colleges Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii Hilo, BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade.
But she will be best remembered as one of the state’s primary stewards of volleyball. She traveled frequently alongside Miller and covered the Rainbow Wahine national championships in 1982, 1983 and 1987. She helped cultivate a community on her newspaper blog, Volleyshots, for almost 15 years.
Luis spoke often of her pride in her son, Wells, who became ESPN Honolulu’s primary radio sportscaster of UH men’s and women’s volleyball games, and had a supporting role in women’s basketball broadcasts.
They were believed to be the only mother-son media tandem in the country covering the same sport.
“She touched a lot of people, and she brought more than just the games of people (to the pages),” Wells said. “She welcomed athletes into the lives of the reader. You got to know these players, more than just players. They became part of your family. And seeing Costas (Theocharidis) over the weekend, seeing Brian Beckwith, seeing Jakob (Thelle), seeing all these people … it didn’t matter the sport, or how long it had been since she covered you. Anytime I saw somebody, they always asked how Mom was.”
All told, she had more than 40 years of newspaper experience in California, Guam and Hawaii.
When Luis was named sports editor, even for the competing newspaper, Miller felt pride for her.
“I thought it was a great thing that had happened, and what made me feel the most comfortable was that people didn’t make a big deal about it, because she was so confident,” Miller said. “What are you going to say? ‘She only got that because she was a woman,’ obviously not. She was just that competent. (Being a woman) had nothing to do with it. So it was that, to me, that was almost the best part of it. She just looked like a natural.”
Later, Luis took on extra assignments. She served as a historian for the UH Sports Circle of Honor for nearly 15 years. She was an adjunct professor of sports journalism at UH Manoa from 2017 to 2019.
Over the last two years, Luis threw herself into becoming a certified docent for public tours at Iolani Palace and Washington Place. There, she could continue a lifelong passion, the transfer of knowledge.
Miller went to see her for one of her scheduled tours soon after she completed her training.
“She loved doing that. That docent stuff, she loves to talk and she loves to be around people,” Miller said.
Wells said she delved into Hawaiiana to learn more about the culture in recent years.
Luis had spoken enthusiastically to friends about her ongoing project, an illustrated book for keiki that had yet to be published.
“She wasn’t born and raised here, but she truly felt that she was a keiki o ka aina," Wells said. "And with the blessing from Paula Akana (executive director of the Friends of Iolani Palace), becoming a docent and a tour guide … she really looked forward to going on Wednesdays and Thursdays and even on Sundays, doing tours and just meeting so many people.
“She was just really embracing that next chapter that that followed post-writing.”
Services are pending. Luis planned to have her ashes scattered off Lanikai Beach.
Cindy Luis is survived by her son Tiff Wells, ex-husband Jay Wells, daughter-in-law Taryn Wells, and brothers Mario and Craig Luis.
Complete tributes on Luis given to Spectrum News:
Retired UH volleyball coach Dave Shoji: “First, I am really saddened by Cindy’s passing. She was a true friend and cared a lot about me and my family. In the beginning, our relationship was strictly business, coach and reporter. I learned to appreciate how much she knew and cared about volleyball a little later, and we became a lot closer. She could always put a spin on a game that was interesting, even the losses and lopsided wins. She will be missed in the volleyball community as well as others she touched.”
Retired Honolulu Star-Advertiser sports editor Paul Arnett: “I first met Cindy long before I ever started working with her. I was covering the UNLV basketball team in the Maui Classic for the 1988-89 season and she was covering it for the Star-Bulletin. I remember how nice she was when I told her it was my first time in Hawaii and I was very excited to be here. She was offered the UH football job but turned it down and cleared the path for me to be hired to do that job in the summer of 1990. I succeeded Cindy as sports editor and once told her that whoever replaced her when she didn’t want to be sports editor anymore would be well set up because of all the good hires she had made. At the time, I never imagined that would be me. She was not only a wonderful colleague, but a kind friend who often messaged and called me after my own wife passed over these last 13 months. I hadn’t heard from her recently and had thought about contacting her to see how she was doing this weekend. Now, not following up on that I’ll never get that chance and I feel regret for that. My condolences to her son Tiff who I have known since he was a young boy taking care of my oldest daughter Chloe when we first moved here in 1990. He had a lot of patience because she was only 3 or 4 and he was probably 7 or 8 at the time. I never forgot that. With her and Bobby Curran passing within a week of each other we have lost so much institutional knowledge about the University of Hawaii sports teams. She invited me to come to her induction into the Circle of Honor a year ago, and that was the last time I saw her. It is difficult to put into words how much love and support she put into that newspaper over the years. It is a tremendous loss.”
UH women’s basketball coach Laura Beeman: "Cindy was always great to me. Fair and detailed in her reporting. Also a huge advocate of women’s sports. My heart hurts for Tiff and the family."
UH Athletics on social media: “She was a pioneer in the media industry, and we were honored to induct her into our Circle of Honor in 2024. It’s a sad day, but we’re thankful for her spirit and professionalism. Rest in Aloha, Cindy. You will be greatly missed, and your impact will live on forever.”
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
