Benjamin Menor (1922 – July 4, 1986)"Pioneer Menor is dead at 63", ''Hawaii Tribune-Herald'' (July 6, 1986), page 1. was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Hawaii The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the Hawaii, State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decis ...

from April 16, 1974, to December 30, 1981.

Biography

Born in the Philippines, Menor came to Hawaii with his family at age 8 and attended the local schools, graduating from

Hilo High School Hilo High School is a Public school (government funded), public, Coeducation, co-educational high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education, and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1906, its first class graduated in 1909. ...

in 1941 and attending Honolulu Business College. He obtained U.S. citizenship and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1944 to 1946, fighting in the Philippines."Big Islanders Tapped For Major Court Posts", ''Hawaii Tribune-Herald'' (March 13, 1974), page 1. After the war, he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

in 1950, followed by a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

in 1952. Menor held various private and public positions before being nominated to the state supreme court, including a term as a member of the

Hawaii State Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the member ...

from 1962 to 1966. Menor was the first person of Filipino ancestry to be elevated to a state supreme court in the United States. Menor's predecessor,

Masaji Marumoto Masaji Marumoto ( January 27, 1906 – February 10, 1995) was the first Japanese American Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. He served from 1956 to 1973. He was the first Japanese American to graduate from Harvard Law School, and the first Jap ...

, resigned from the court in December 1973 to enable Governor

John A. Burns John Anthony Burns (March 30, 1909 – April 5, 1975) was an American politician. Burns was born in Montana and became a resident of Hawaii in 1913. He served as the second governor of Hawaii from 1962 to 1974. Early life John Burns was ...

to appoint his successor, with Burns then appointing Menor to the seat.Douglas Boswell, "Burns dealt a blow on appointments", ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' (July 27, 1974), page 1.

Personal life and death

Menor married Angie Iranon of Honolulu, with whom he had three sons. He died in Honolulu at the age of 63, after developing

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

References

1922 births 1986 deaths Filipino emigrants to the United States University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Hawaii state senators Justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court Honolulu Business College alumni 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians {{Hawaii-state-judge-stub