PAULA ADELE HOTTENSTEIN RESS

On April 21, 2025, Paula Ress died peacefully and surrounded by family at her home in Kailua. She was 80 years old.

When Paula arrived in Hawaii in 1986, she wasted no time becoming an integral part of the Kailua community. She became a board-certified realtor, a founding member of the Kalaheo High School Foundation, a member of the Kailua United Methodist Church (KUMC), and an active participant in the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle (LKOC). While serving on the LKOC Board, Paula worked on several beautification projects as part of LKOC’s mission to keep Hawaii clean, green, and beautiful. She had a keen appreciation of Hawaii’s natural beauty as well as a gift for seeing the potential beauty in a run-down home, neglected park, or treeless roadway. She cared enough about her clients to appreciate their vision and helped create homes that uniquely fit the aesthetic of time and place. Paula grew every type of plant in her home garden, became a Citizen Forester, and took the time to write letters to newspaper editors and to submit public testimony in support of issues ranging from Hawaii’s much-envied sign ordinances to zoning laws protecting Hawaii’s neighborhoods and natural resources. Over the years, Paula worked with Meals on Wheels, prepared and served food at IHS, and spearheaded KUMC’s annual shipment of Christmas gifts to families on Molokai.

Born in Evansville, Indiana, Paula was raised by her mother, Elsie Giesman Siechen, after her father, Walter Paul Hottenstein, an Army Air Corps pilot, was killed flying in England during World War II. She attended Stephens College for two years and then Indiana University, where she met Bob Ress, her partner and husband of 57 years. She is survived by Bob, their children Marisa (Thinh) and Alex (Clare), and their five grandchildren. She is also survived by her younger brother, Scott (Andrea), and two grandnieces.

In big and small ways, Paula expressed her love for family, friends, and home through her diverse artistic hobbies, her green thumb, her community advocacy, and her many thoughtful gestures. As such, the world is left with special memories of a kind, generous, and beautiful heart. In her honor, The Outdoor Circle has set up a fund, "Paula’s Garden."