Fond memories of Roy Orbison
Dear Editor: My husband, Jerry, was always taken with Hawaii, so when we were expecting our baby in 1963, he came up with the suggestion — if it were a girl — to name the child Launa. I said it reminded me of a Hawaiian princess.
Just before our baby was born, we heard a song on the radio, with the lyric “Oh, beautiful Lana. Was the sweetest and neatest little girl in the world.” It was sung by a fellow named Roy Orbison.
We sure picked up our ears, and we took it as a sign that we had chosen the right name for our baby.
Launa was born on my birthday, Oct. 17. At 6 a.m., this beautiful little girl with golden hair and blue eyes, weighing eight pounds, came into the world and our lives. We gave her the red roses my husband had bought me for my birthday.
Nine years later, in 1972, we were living in Hawaii when I noticed a write-up in our local paper that Roy Orbison was visiting our local music store. We came into the store and there he was, playing his guitar. There wasn’t anyone else around, so we got to talking and told him we had named our daughter after his lovely song.
He seemed very pleased and signed one of his LPs that we had brought with us to the store. He signed the record, “To Lana, Love, Roy Orbison.”
In the Hawaiian language, Launa translates roughly as “friendly and sociable.” That’s our girl, and also how we found Roy Orbison to be when we met him! Lita Prince Kelowna EDITOR’S NOTE: Ms. Prince, a long-time Daily Courier reader, shared her story on what’s the 29-year anniversary of Orbison’s death.