148:. At age 32, she was diagnosed and given a prognosis of one year. Sunn continued to surf daily despite the pain from bouts of chemotherapy, radiation treatments, medications and the financial toll associated with the disease. Following her diagnosis, Sunn became a radio disc jockey and surf reporter, a physical therapist at a Waianae care home, and a counselor at a cancer research center. She helped pilot a program for breast cancer awareness at the Wai'anae Cancer Research Center that involved educating local women about the causes and prevention of breast cancer. Over the next 14 years, her cancer went into remission three times, and she underwent a
103:. Her middle name, which means "the heart of the sea," was given to her by her grandmother. Legally born Roella, a combination of her parents' namesāRoen and ElbertāSunn disliked it, eventually changing it legally to Rell. Sunn's father was a beach boy, a term for men who were some mix of a lifeguard, surfing instructor, and tourist guide. She began surfing at the age of 4.
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on a trip to
California to attend a world championship, and began traveling around the world to compete professionally. With Mary Setterholm, Jericho Poppler, and MaryLou Drummy, Sunn co-founded the Women's International Surfing Association (WISA) in 1975, the first women's pro circuit. In 1979, she,
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Sunn moved to
Oklahoma with her then boyfriend sometime in the late 1960s, got married, and had one daughter, Jan Sunn-Carreira. By 1972 her marriage failed, and she and her daughter returned to Hawaii. After a five year hiatus from surfing, she returned to surf. By 1995, she got re-married to her
195:, which is annually held in her hometown of Makaha, Oahu in the hopes of encouraging surfing sportsmanship and environmental awareness in a community that experiences a high juvenile delinquency rate.
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Rell Sunn died on
January 2, 1998, aged 47. More than 3,000 people attended her memorial service, where her ashes were scattered in the ocean off her native Makaha.
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In 1996, Sunn was the topic of the song "Mother Of The Sea" by
Hawaiian singer/songwriter Darren Benitez. In 1997, an award-winning documentary about Sunn's life,
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In August 1996, she was inducted into the
Surfing Walk of Fame as that year's Woman of the Year; the Walk is in Huntington Beach, California.
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Sun was Hawaii's number one female amateur surfer for five years. She was Hawaii's first female lifeguard. In 1966, she accompanied
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During her battle with breast cancer in the 1980s, Sunn began her own surf contest,
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third husband, Dave
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280:"Surfing's Queen Rell Sunn Was as Tough Yet Graceful as They Come"
456:"Why Hawaiian Legend Rell Sunn Was the Human Embodiment of Aloha"
124:, Cherie Gross, Linda Davoli, Debbie Beacham, Becky Benson and
551:"Rell Sunn, Surfing's Graceful Queen, Was as Tough They Come"
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Rell
Kapolioka'ehukai Sunn was born on July 31, 1950, in
507:"Rell Sunn - the Queen of Makaha, the Heart of the Sea"
482:"Rell Sunn - the Queen of Makaha, the Heart of the Sea"
426:"Rell Sunn - the Queen of Makaha, the Heart of the Sea"
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314:"Independent Lens . HEART OF THE SEA . The Film | PBS"
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368:"Rell Sunn: Celebrating Hawaii's queen of surfing"
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687:Sportspeople from Honolulu County, Hawaii
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549:Housman, Justin (December 16, 2021).
258:"Cancer Kills Rell Sunn, surf legend"
182:Stories of Rell Sunn: Queen of MÄkaha
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366:Cooper, Jeanne (February 4, 2011).
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692:20th-century American sportswomen
603:"Honolulu Star-Bulletin Sports"
193:Rell Sunn Menehune Surf Contest
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264:. January 3, 1998. p. 1.
630:Rell Sunn's Official Website
142:Huntington Beach, California
116:along with Jericho Poppler,
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376:Hearst Communications Inc.
69:Rell Kapolioka'ehukai Sunn
682:American female surfers
635:Rell Sunn's Photographs
136:Cancer battle and death
262:Honolulu Star-Bulletin
154:bone marrow transplant
85:world surfing champion
582:on September 10, 2014
640:Rell Sunn's obituary
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29:Personal information
576:"Woman of the Year"
75:ā January 2, 1998,
646:"Heart of the Sea"
532:"Heart of the Sea"
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126:Brenda Scott
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58:(1998-01-02)
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667:1998 deaths
662:1950 births
612:November 7,
586:November 8,
410:November 7,
381:February 4,
323:November 8,
289:November 8,
207:Filmography
122:Margo Oberg
118:Lynne Boyer
656:Categories
379:Retrieved
245:References
232:Blue Crush
150:mastectomy
95:Early life
40:1950-07-31
560:August 4,
516:August 4,
491:August 4,
466:August 4,
435:August 4,
348:August 4,
199:Accolades
186:surf rock
130:longboard
24:Rell Sunn
372:SFGate
223:Notes
217:Title
172:Legacy
163:Family
152:and a
107:Career
77:Makaha
73:Hawaii
220:Role
214:Year
614:2019
588:2014
562:2022
518:2022
493:2022
468:2022
437:2022
412:2019
383:2011
350:2022
325:2019
291:2019
228:1998
53:Died
34:Born
318:PBS
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