Diocesan secretary managed church records and statistics
Nettie Lou Kaleimomi Naula Peiler, the recently retired secretary for the diocese’s Chancellor’s Office at St. Stephen Diocesan Center who handled church records and statistics among other duties, died on March 9 in Kaneohe. She was 66.
Her funeral is March 31 at St. Ann Church in Kaneohe. Visitation is at 9:30 a.m. followed by Mass at 11:45 a.m. She will be buried after the Mass at Hawaiian Memorial Park.
“Nettie was a hidden treasure for the Diocese of Honolulu,” said Mary Duddy, who worked with Peiler in the diocese’s Tribunal and Canonical Affairs Office. “She was hard working, detail-oriented and above all a devoted Catholic.”
Peiler started working for the diocese in 1999 as a volunteer for the Hawaii Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Diocese of Honolulu that tracks bills in the State Legislature and advocates for and against various social causes.
She then moved to the Tribunal and Canonical Affairs Office which mostly handles marriage issues such as annulments, and dispensations and approvals.
Her most recent position as secretary for the Office of the Chancellor put her in charge of keeping track of the diocesan archives, a vast collection of church records stored in the climate-controlled basement of the Castle Building at St. Stephen Diocesan Center.
As the “gatekeeper” of the archives, Duddy said, “she knew where everything was and was able to retrieve requested documents. She organized innumerable boxes and kept things in order.”
“Nettie also kept up-to-date copies of all the sacramental records for the diocese,” Duddy said. “She was determined when hunting down sacramental (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation and marriage) records, a sometimes tedious task.”
“She was very patient and helpful with callers,” Duddy said, “while at the same time not giving out information that was not merited.”
Peiler had the yearly task of compiling the information and statistics about the diocese that is published annually in the U.S. Official Catholic Directory. She also assembled and recorded the results of the local diocesan October count, which calculated the number of weekend Mass-goers every year.
“She had an excellent memory and kept records of everything,” Duddy said. “Ask her about almost any fact about the diocese and she knew the answer or could find it.”
Peiler was born on Nov. 6, 1947, in Honolulu, the oldest of five children of Lepeka Naula Sr. and Miriam Kainoa Mendiola Naula. She is a graduate of Castle High School in Kaneohe.
She married Clyde Keaweaheule Peiler in 1973. Her husband died and they did not have any children, according to her brother Lepeka Naula Jr.
She was an active and committed Catholic, outside of her diocesan employment, serving as a religious education teacher’s aide and as president of the Legion of Mary.
“Most people who worked for the Diocese of Honolulu knew Nettie,” said Duddy. “She was very hospitable and loved working for the diocese. She was prayerful and cared about the needs of others. She was forgiving and generous, a true Christian woman.”
Peiler is survived by her brothers Lepeka, Milton and Melson and her sister Marvalee Naula-Lopez.
