Buzzy loved everyone and everyone loved Buzzy.

On Saturday afternoon, Kalaupapa Mule Ride trail boss Buzzy Sproat passed away at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, surrounded by his wife Marlene and ohana.

They were hoping he could get a little better and return to Molokai for his final days. Sadly, he didn’t make it.

Kalaupapa Mule Ride trail boss Buzzy Sproat prepares a group of visitors for the day’s ride.

PF Bentley/Civil Beat

I had seen him a few days earlier in bed, eyes closed, but fully aware that I and others were in the room and laughing when we made jokes.

Buzzy didn’t care if you were famous, infamous, a politician, kamaaina, malihini, or just visiting for a few days on Molokai, he treated everybody the same with dignity, respect and fun. I’ve had the honor of knowing him and his ohana for a relatively short time.

A few years ago I was contacted by his business partner, Roy Horner, to produce a film about the mule ride for promotional purposes.  The making of that film turned into a friendship with a man who was a walking living legend of Hawaii’s past.  I wanted to show the mule ride and tour of Kalaupapa through his eyes, voice and history.

Buzzy Sproat – Paniolo of the Pacific from PF BENTLEY on Vimeo.

The day we filmed the actual mule ride was one of the most physically exhausting days of my career, hiking down and then up with camera gear, having to pass the mules repeatedly on the narrow trail with sheer drops to the ocean hundreds of feet below.

Buzzy liked to tell this story: As I was passing one mule on an outside edge holding a tripod with a video camera attached, the mule moved to the edge and I ended up hanging on the mule’s saddle straps with one hand,  “squealing like a school girl,” as he put it. You just couldn’t help but laugh every time he told it.

(Then there was the hike back up with the gear, but that’s another story.)

Buzzy’s idea to break in wild horses was simple — tie them to the mule team, take them down the trail, give them water and a little rest, then walk them back up the trail with the mules.  The mules accustomed to the trail were fine, but horses were so tired at the top they had no energy to buck and were rideable in a short time.

Sproat on one of the 26 switchbacks on the trail down to Kalaupapa.

PF Bentley/Civil Beat

Buzzy was also an awarding-winning paniolo who has won numerous prizes and awards because he was so comfortable on horseback. He passed his skills down to his children, who are continuing the tradition.

He “retired” a few years ago — well, maybe he didn’t go down the trail as much, but he continued to come to work at dawn every morning and help his boys take care of the mules and barn. He also filled in as the bus tour driver in Kalaupapa when needed. So much for retirement.

I miss you Buzzy, and everyone who had the good luck to come in contact with you will miss you too.  I’m sure heaven is a happier place today.