Emily Ikehara Obituary

Emily Fujiko Ikehara was born May 13, 1925 to Shinkichi and Kamado Matsukawa in Kaneohe, the sixth of eight children. She graduated from Benjamin Parker High School in 1944. Emily graduated with an RN from St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu in 1948. She had a full and varied nursing career, even delivering a Waikane neighbor's baby. She became a home health nurse in Hilo and retired as Director of the Home Health Service on the Big Island in 1987. Emily was recognized with an award from the Hawaii Nurse's Association. She was a devoted gardener with a yard full of flowers, trees, and native Hawaiian plants, including her prized Okinawan sakura trees in Volcano. She was a devoted wife to classmate Thomas Ikehara, married September 30, 1950, mother of Walter, Laura, April, and Ronald, and much loved Nana to six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Emily passed away peacefully on October 22, 2023 at 98 in the home of daughter Laura in Vancouver, WA, where she received loving care from family for the last six years of her life.
Celebration of Life: February 18 at Parker United Methodist Church, 45-211 Waikalua Rd, Kaneohe, HI 96744. Visitation 1 pm, service 2 pm.
Inurnment at Hawaiian Memorial Park on February 19.
Celebration of Life: February 24 at Hilo United Methodist Church, 374 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720-2447. Visitation 10 am, service 11 am.
Arrangements Provided By: Cascadia Cremation & Burial