Peter Baldwin competes in the 2010 Makawao Rodeo. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
MAKAWAO — Even into his 80s, Peter Damon Baldwin — a larger-than-life visionary, paniolo hall of famer and business leader of Haleakala Ranch and Haleakala Dairy — had an endless amount of energy and humor, loved ones said Monday.
“He was a creative force,” wife Susie Baldwin said. “He was always thinking out of the box and found the right people for the right job.”
Longtime employee, polo athlete and friend Herman-Louis DeCoite said Peter Baldwin changed his life.
“The man, legend, boss, adviser and athlete — that’s what I’ll miss,” he said. “Remember him for all the doors he opened for me and my ohana.”
Known for his professional acumen that put POG juice and other Maui-made Haleakala Dairy products on the map, the fifth-generation rancher of the Baldwin family would carve out a path that future leaders would follow.
Susie Baldwin shows a photo of late husband Peter Baldwin, who was known for his business savvy, athleticism, philanthropy and pulling pranks, such as riding a horse — on separate occasions — into a Makawao restaurant and a Bank of Hawaii meeting.
“(Peter Baldwin was) a man that I truly respected that at times tried to even emulate in the sense of how he talked and how he wanted things done,” Mayor Michael Victorino said during a county news conference last week.
Peter Baldwin died June 30 at age 83 after battling cancer. A celebration of life for family, friends and others who knew him will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Haleakala Ranch “Racetrack” pasture in Makawao.
The many stories and achievements of the Maui native are being chronicled in a forthcoming book by “Haleakala Ranch: Celebrating the 125th Anniversary” author John Harrisson, who became close friends with the rancher amid weekly meetings the last few years.
Harrisson and Susie, along with Peter Baldwin’s son, Duke, granddaughter Ashleigh Boomgard, and great-granddaughter, Annabelle Samborn, 8, said Monday that Peter Baldwin’s legacy is equal parts philanthropist, athlete, family man and prankster.
“He was notorious in Makawao — when it was Club Rodeo and Steakhouse — for bringing horses into bars,” Duke Baldwin said.
Another time, when Peter Baldwin was attending a Bank of Hawaii retirement meeting, “he took the horse on the elevator from the parking garage” and rode it into the room, Harrisson said.
In 1976 Peter Baldwin took over as president of Haleakala Ranch. By the 1980s, he progressively acquired Haleakala Dairy’s company stock, and by the early 1990s, Haleakala Dairy was the only dairy company on Maui, according to Harrisson.
Under Peter Baldwin’s leadership, Haleakala Dairy enjoyed a near monopoly on Maui for years and the prices of dairy products were among the lowest in Hawaii, Harrisson said.
“We did things right,” Peter Baldwin said about his business tenure in the book “Haleakala Ranch.”
In 2000 the leader retired from the ranch and sold the dairy to Meadow Gold.
Born on Maui on July 8, 1937, Peter Baldwin attended homeschool and Kaunoa Royal School in Spreckelsville. He went on to high school at Cate School in Southern California then finished two years at Punahou School in Honolulu. He graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in hotel management and business.
As a gifted, multisport athlete, Peter Baldwin would rope professionally in his early 20s, win All-Around Cowboy at Makawao Rodeo in 1967 and be inducted into the Paniolo Hall of Fame in 2007. He also excelled at polo and played in college and beyond. He was named U.S. Amateur Polo Player of the Year in 1988.
Victorino last week praised the man for his generosity toward the local community.
Although he never played soccer, Peter Baldwin founded in 1976 the island’s first youth soccer league called Maui Youth Soccer Organization, which is among his most proud accomplishments, he told family and friends. Haleakala Dairy sponsored 100 percent of the equipment for the inaugural season and hundreds of youngsters participated.
Peter Baldwin played polo up until about four years ago, but an aggressive form of cancer called glioblastoma is ultimately what forced him to rest. He was diagnosed in April and the brain disease moved quickly. Susie Baldwin said treatment on the Mainland was challenging and she was thankful Duke’s jokes would get Peter “to light up.”
In the last couple years of his life, Peter Baldwin spent more time reflecting and found a deeper, more serene sense of love, family said.
Daily coffee with Susie (she had Nespresso and he had drip coffee with keawe honey), taking the grandkids to Pukalani Superette for F’real shakes, feeding the birds, having dinner just so he could get to the Blue Bunny vanilla ice cream and other daily tasks, were where he found peace and joy.
“There was never a day where we wouldn’t say we love each other,” Susie Baldwin said.
In the morning, Peter Baldwin would make his way out to a “prayer box,” an outdoor drawer that held Alcoholics Anonymous books, Buddhist philosophical readings and hand-written prayers on index cards. He prayed for every family member, his wife said.
Peter Baldwin’s prayer card for Boomgard, his granddaughter, reminds her that she has what it takes to be a strong female leader.
“He always believed in me,” said Boomgard, a nurse.
“He was like a guide, guiding his family in the right direction,” Duke Baldwin added. “He always supported us no matter what.”
He is survived by his wife Susie; his brother Ben and sister Katie (Achaval); his three sons, Jeff, Duke and Chris; eight grandchildren and a great granddaughter. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Hospice Maui.
* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.
Peter Baldwin competes in the 2010 Makawao Rodeo. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos 
Susie Baldwin shows a photo of late husband Peter Baldwin, who was known for his business savvy, athleticism, philanthropy and pulling pranks, such as riding a horse — on separate occasions — into a Makawao restaurant and a Bank of Hawaii meeting.Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
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