Isabelle Namauʻu Thompson (May 17, 1891 – June 11, 1946) was a Hawaiian-American teacher and politician. Born in

Lahaina, Hawaii Lahaina (; ) or Lāhainā is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. On the northwest coast of the island of Maui, it encompasses Lahaina town and the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. At the 2020 census (be ...

, she represented

Maui County Maui County (), officially the County of Maui, is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Maui, Lānai, Molokai (except for a portion of Molokai that comprises Kalawao County), Kahoolawe, and Molokini. The latter ...

in the

Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives The Hawaii Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of the Territory of Hawaii from 1900 to 1959 (when Hawaii became a state). The Hawaii Territorial Legislature was established on April 30, 1900, by the Hawaiian Organic Act which establ ...

beginning in 1945, but was ill for much of her term. She died of an

intracerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into Intraparenchymal hemorrhage, the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its Intraventricular hemorrhage, ventricles, or into both. An ICH is ...

in 1946 before the term concluded.

Early life

Isabell Namauʻu was born in

, on May 17, 1891. Namauʻu sang at the annual meeting of the Hawaiian Girls' Club in May 1919. On June 25, 1921, a farewell party was held at the Kula Sanitarium for Namauʻu and a colleague, who were both leaving the sanitarium. In July and August 1921, Namauʻu sang Hawaiian music at the daily assemblies of the territory's

summer school Summer school (or summer university) is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, or provided by a private company, that provides lessons and activities during the summer vacation. Participation in summer school ...

, which was held at McKinley High School. On December 19, 1921, Namauʻu married prominent

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

er Charles Thompson at her home in

Lahaina Lahaina (; ) or Lāhainā is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. On the northwest coast of the island of Maui, it encompasses Lahaina town and the Kaanapali, Hawaii, Kaanapali and Kapalua, Hawaii, Kapalua beac ...

. The couple travelled to Hana to celebrate. At the time of the marriage, Namauʻu was a teacher at the Episcopal School in Lahaina and had previously taught in Kula. She was Thompson's third wife; they had four children together.

Career and death

Thompson was elected as a Democrat to represent

in the

for a term beginning in 1945. She was unwell for most of her term, and only intermittently present in the legislature. On June 11, 1946, Thompson died of a sudden

at her home in Kihei. She was 55 years old. Because there were no legislative sessions scheduled before the next

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

that November, her seat remained vacant through the end of the term.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Isabelle 1891 births 1946 deaths 20th-century American women politicians Hawaii Democrats Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature People from Maui Women territorial legislators in Hawaii