Thomas Adolpho retired at the end of July after years of dedicated service in carpentry and maintenance at BYU–Hawaii. Born and raised in Hauula, Thomas Adolpho used his skills to serve others and raise his 11 adult children, said his wife Laura Adolpho.
Kawika Vendiola, a fleet services supervisor from the Facilities Management department, said Thomas Adolpho is known as “Uncle Tommy,” and he always strives his best to make anyone’s day, even if it’s outside of his job scope.
“Often, when he saw we were doing our little projects by the ground area, he would come with his dustpan and broom and start helping us. … I love that guy. He’s very humble, hardworking, and committed,” Vendiola continued.
Laura Adolpho shared while the Laie Hawaii Temple was being renovated, they needed people to help, and Thomas Adolpho was willing to step in. “The workers there thought he’s one of the third Nephites.” She added her husband refused to accept the labor money and did it out of kindness just so those workers could go home for Thanksgiving. He remained friends with two of the workers until they passed away, she said.
Thomas Adolpho started as a construction worker for 10 years and was the foreman on several projects for four to five years. He soon became an independent contractor. His work can be seen all over the BYUH campus, the Polynesian Cultural Center, temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Hawaiian Islands.
Those years of experience taught him invaluable skills, said Laura Adolpho. She added when Sione Feinga, a former head of BYUH Facilities Management, asked Thomas Adolpho to fill the management position at the carpentry shop, he didn’t hesitate to say yes while also doing his contracting on the side. Laura Adolpho said he could have complained due to the nature of the job, but he never did. He believed in getting the job done, she said.
Jaddy Toelupe, Thomas Adolpho’s longest carpentry coworker, expressed his gratitude for working alongside Thomas Adolpho and for the lessons he learned from him. Thomas Adolpho’s biggest pet peeve is anything related to waste, he said. “When it’s time to work, you better be ready to work,” Toelupe explained.
Laura Adolpho explained Thomas Adolpho was a very stern and hardworking father because he was the only breadwinner. She said he passed his work ethic to his seven sons not long after they finished their missions. As a result, Laura Adolpho explained, some of his sons didn’t know what summer vacation was “as the first day of summer they would all jump on the back of the truck and go to work.”
One of his sons, Thomas Adolpho, Jr., shared that early exposure to his father’s work ethic at work and home has helped him accomplish everything he has thus far. He said, “I find the values he shared with me so important that I try to push those on to my kids so they can have the same experiences.”