A Gift to Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present and Inspire the Future
Rick ’75 and Marybeth Wong ’75 Ching have always been dedicated volunteers in our community, so when their class began preparation for their upcoming 50th reunion celebration, they quickly stepped up to get involved. In addition to being on their reunion gift committee, they were inspired to make a leadership gift to the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons.
“When we heard about the goals for transforming Cooke Library into the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons, it got us excited about how Punahou is changing and adapting to meet the needs of the current student body,” Rick said. “Given how much Aloha we have for Punahou and the importance of the project to the School, it was with enthusiasm and gratitude that we decided to make this gift.”
This gesture is particularly poignant for the Ching family because Rick’s mother, Lillian Ching ’41, worked as a librarian for more than 28 years, retiring from her Cooke Library post in 1990. Rick’s memories of her include her love of helping students and being around books, a professional who was diligent in her work, a born librarian. Naturally, education was a priority for their family and Punahou was at the core.
The Academy library, temporarily housed in Bishop Hall during the renovation process, includes 30,000 fiction and non–fiction volumes which comprise the circulating collection. In addition to the diverse collection of books, the re-envisioned facility will also offer expanded physical and online academic research resources and opportunities.
Rick and Marybeth have a connection to Punahou that spans three generations and nearly 100 years. Their family’s story began with Rick’s parents. Edward Ching ’41 and Lillian, were both members of Punahou’s centennial class. Lillian entered Punahou as a kindergartner in the late 1920’s.
Both Rick and Marybeth’s siblings all attended Punahou, Tim Ching ’69, Jennifer Ching ’71 and Randi Ching ’75, Deb Wong ’69 Gilles and Mike Wong ’72. As fate would have it, the third generation of this ‘ohana, Stephanie Ching ’03 Wong followed in the footsteps of her grandparents and parents and met her husband Mitchell Wong ’03, as classmates at Punahou.
“Punahou School, its teachers, staff and students, have had such a profound impact on our lives and those of our extended family. Making a donation to the Learning Commons to help make this facility available to students to advance their overall education and help grow the Punahou community just feels right!”
The Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons is scheduled to open in 2026. The reimagined structure – which will include updated design technology facilities, a food lab, conference rooms, gallery space, flexible classrooms and community spaces for collaborative projects and socializing – will reflect the evolution of learning in the 21st century. This transformative space will continue to be home for the Academy library and yes, will still have lots of books.
To learn more about this project visit https://learningcommons.punahou.edu/.
– Morgan Kaya ’00