Sandra Song, retired judge, dies at 65

Sandra Pechter Song, a retired Hilo District Court judge and prominent local attorney, died Wednesday of cancer at Hospice of Hilo Pohai Malama Facility. She was 65.

“She was one of the smartest people that I’ve ever been privileged to know,” said Dixie Kaetsu, a friend and former county managing director. “And she was a very talented attorney. She was a scrapper. She would fight for her clients.”

The Chicago-born Song graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1974, came to Hawaii and opened the Molokai office of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. She later moved to the Big Island, became a deputy county corporation counsel, and later a partner at Roehrig, Roehrig, Wilson, Hara, Schutte &de Silva and counsel at Case &Lynch, before her 1997-2003 bench term.

“She was outspoken, and she was honest,” said Stephanie Salazar, a friend and Circuit Court clerk. “… She was fascinated with the land division system in Hawaii, you know, the ahupuaa, so when there was a chance to come to Hawaii, she did.”

In later years, Song’s private practice focused on arbitration and mediation, land use, real estate and civil litigation. She also was a contract hearing officer for the Hawaii County Planning Commission, a volunteer mediator and board member of Kuikahi Mediation Center, and served as counsel to the Hilo grand jury.

Song’s husband, Jeremy “Jerry” Song, described her as “a strong, determined woman.” A retired cobbler who owned the former Modern Shoe Repair in Hilo, Jeremy Song said she became his friend when she was a customer at his shop.

“I asked her to do … a power of attorney for my daughter, and she did it for free,” he said. “I said, ‘No, no, no. I’ll take you to lunch or dinner.’ We kept disconnecting for a couple of months. Finally, I said, ‘You know what? I’ll buy a pizza, a bottle of wine, and you can come up to my house.’

“She came up, and from there, she never left.”

Song also was an avid orchid grower and judge, a member of the Hilo and American orchid societies, and for several years chaired the annual orchid shows in Hilo.

“The orchids were her life,” Jeremy Song said.

“She was a really talented and dedicated grower and hybridizer,” said fellow orchid grower and enthusiast Danny Castro, who described Song as a “great friend.”

“If you were one of Sandy’s friends, she would go to the ends of the Earth to help you,” he said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

In addition to her husband, Song had a daughter, Helen, from a previous marriage. Other survivors will be contained in an obituary to be published later.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.