Alfred Shaheen

KaAhu Noeau Governors Lifetime Achievement Award, State of Hawaii, 2001

Shaheen was born in Cranford, New Jersey on January 31, 1922 to a family of Lebanese immigrants, who were garment industry entrepreneurs. Shaheens grandfather, Assi Shaheen, came to the U.S. from Lebanon in the late1800s and established silk factories in New York and New Jersey. Shaheens father, George, joined his father, Assi, in the U.S. in the early1900s. George ultimately started his own business, Geo. Shaheen, with his wife, Mary. In 1938, George moved his family and his business to Hawaii, where George and Mary specialized in custom garments made from silks, brocades, rayon satin, and other formal fabrics. Alfred returned to the mainland to attend Whittier College, where he excelled at math, physics, engineering and football. Alfred graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering just as the U.S. entered World War II. Alfred enlisted in the Army Air Corps and became a fighter pilot, flying 84 missions over Germany, Italy and France.

Source: Wikipedia