Marc Tolliver is a professional hairstylist, educator and a life and business coach. He is the owner and manager of Lava 405 Hair Salon at Rutz Salon. He has been in the business for 30 years. He has cut and styled hair in Chicago, California, Maui and in resorts, in theaters, for photographers and for fashion runway shows. He is a platform hair artist, a fashion consultant and he has served as a judge of fashion and hair shows.

Like his parents, Marc has always been aware of what he could do and how he could blend all that is around him onto to his life and his career. He firmly believes that everything in life can blend if you just allow it to be.

Dorothy, his mother, is a librarian and a tenured professor at the University of Hawaii Maui College Library. She has a Masters in Library Science. Dorothy has been a librarian for more than 40 years and has worked in academic, public and school libraries.

A widow with two adult sons, Dorothy's husband, Bob, was in radio, television and newspaper advertising and promotion. He was the owner and operator of a steel fabrication plant in Illinois. The family has lived and worked in Indiana, California, Colorado, Ohio, Illinois and Hawaii. Bob had a Masters in Audio-Visual Education and a Masters in Library and Information Science.

"My parents were well-rounded, educated and a successful couple who raised their children with real values," according to Marc.

"They were able to see a whole, accepting and exciting world. They wanted my brother and me to be whoever we wanted to be and to reach for whatever we wanted to do with our lives. We were their children and they loved us for the people we were regardless of sexual orientation, lifestyle, career or partner choices.

"I remember my father giving me big hugs and saying 'I love you' and my mother always saying 'no matter who you are, you are very special to me and to everyone else and that I will always love you.'"

Marc continues: "I asked my mom once if I was gay, would you still love me and without hesitation, she said 'yes.' I didn't have any doubts that I was gay and that my parents would be loving and accepting. But, because I did not want them to worry, I never did tell them I was gay until I was 20 (years old), and I knew that I was going to be OK in the gay world.

"During the AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s, I took my best friend Elbert to Maui," Marc recalls. "Elbert was dying of AIDS and it was before the cocktail mix. When I asked my parents if I could bring Elbert to Maui - without hesitation - they said, 'yes, bring him.' With that type of reaction from my parents, I knew if anything would happen to me, that they would be there for me and I would be there for them."

In 1988, Marc's parents moved to Maui. In 2000, Marc had just finished traveling nationwide with Paul Mitchell in the salon industry shows. Rather than going back to Chicago where he had lost many friends to AIDS, he decided to get re-grounded and move back to Maui to be with his parents.

He knew his father had Parkinson's and it was getting progressively worse. Marc also knew that his mother needed help caring for his father. At that time, his father was in the hospital and could not be released unless there was another adult in their home to assist his mother with his father's care. So he flew to Maui to help care-give to his father.

“Care giving was not easy, but very rewarding in so many areas,” Marc said. "I knew dad would have been there for me ... how could I not do this for him?"

Marc's father passed away two years ago. Marc and Dorothy still miss him and his loving support. Marc continues to live in Maui with his mother. They are still there for each other.

Dorothy and Marc are Jewish. They currently belong to Maui Reform Gan Eden Chavurah, which is led by a gay lay leader. Their congregation welcomes non-traditional couples and members. Both also belong to the more conservative Jewish Congregation of Maui. The two congregations cooperate and coordinate services, holidays and community events.

Dorothy and Marc are very active in various community service organizations. One of these organizations is Rotary, which awarded Marc the Kihei-Wailea Rotary Distinguished Rotarian Award in 2005. •