Noboru Yonamine Obituary

NOBORU NOBU YONAMINE Noboru "Nobu" Yonamine, 89, of Pearl City, Hawaii, passed away peacefully on October 27, 2024. Nobu was born in 1934 at the Mahinahina Camp on Maui, one of 6 children of Taro and Ushi Yonamine, immigrants from Nishihara, Okinawa. The family moved to Honolulu in 1947. Nobu graduated from Kaimuki High School, Class of '52. He attended the University of Hawaii-Manoa, then George Williams College in Chicago where he received a B.S. in Group Work Education and Wayne State University in Detroit where he received a Master's in Social Work - Community Organization. Nobu dedicated his life to public service and social justice. He served 10 years as Executive Director of the Susannah Wesley Community Center; 8 years on the Hawaii State Board of Education, three times as chairman; 10 years in the Hawaii State Legislature House of Representatives; Executive Director of the Atherton YMCA; and positions with the Office of Lt. Governor in the Voter/Community Services Division; and the Governor's Office of Children and Youth. Committed to serving his community, he was president of the United Okinawan Association, Nishihara Chojin Kai, Pearl City Community Association, Pearl City Lions Club, and the Japanese American Citizens League. He also volunteered at many organizations, including the Kalihi-Palama Community Council, Pearl City High School Band boosters, neighborhood board, and his daughters' PTAs. Nobu's life was filled with many passions. He was a diehard fan of the Notre Dame football team and had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He loved music - singing at his fundraisers and daughters' weddings and playing his harmonica and ukulele on the lanai. Nobu loved to travel - he went to Disney World five times with his family and always felt fortunate and proud that a barefoot boy from a Maui plantation could travel to Europe, Japan, China, Canada, and throughout the US. Nobu's passion for helping others, combined with his deep love for his family, sports, music, and travel, shaped a life filled with purpose and fulfillment. Nobu is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elsie, two daughters: Laura (Jon Ishihara), Cheryl Kaneshiro (Wade), and two grandsons, Christopher and Timothy. Services will be at the Mililani Mortuary Mauka Chapel on Saturday February 8. Visitation begins at 9:30 am, service at 10:30 am. The family requests no flowers.