TOKIE YONESHIGE Obituary

TOKIE YASUDA YONESHIGE 90, of Kaneohe, passed away on December 30, 2023. Born in Fukuoka, Japan where she studied and worked to become a skilled seamstress and pattern maker. She met and married her island born husband Harry, while he was stationed in Kokura, Japan. Being married to a soldier meant many moves across the United States. Tokie learned to speak English, drive a car, and attain her US citizenship while living life in places like Hawaii, Arkansas, and Texas, all the while working and raising two children. When Harry was deployed to Vietnam, the family returned to Hawaii and settled in their Kaneohe home where she worked at Jacqueline's of Hawaii as a seamstress and pattern maker. Later, she went into business on her own and spent time taking care of her three grandchildren. She also became an active member of her church and joined the Kaneohe Senior Center. On any given day you could find her making haku lei or flower arrangements, doing Chinese exercises, zumba, or water exercises, participating in utakai sessions, and singing at care homes and churches with the Hui group. She always made potluck goodies in support of Harry's softball games and Kaneohe AJA baseball games. After Harry's retirement from the Army and USPS, they spent time supporting the grandkids in their school and sporting activities and began traveling again. Their favorite trips together were the 3-4 times a year treks to Las Vegas where she was an avid poker machine player. She loved watching sumo, cooking food for the family and her church, and enjoying being retired. She made quite a life for herself and her family in Hawaii and will be dearly missed. Preceded in death by her husband, Harry, her parents Chiyomaru and Kikue Yasuda, and sisters Kimie, Miyuki, and Masumi. Tokie is survived by a sister Kaemi Hayama and brother Susumu (Yoko) Yasuda. Daughter Naomi (Harvard) Sumida, Son Michael (Melanie) Yoneshige, Grandchildren; Leigh (Jarvis) Nohara, Seamus Yoneshige, and Kamryn Yoneshige, along with numerous nieces and nephews in Japan and Hawaii. Private services were held. Arrangements provided by Mililani Memorial Mortuary, Kaneohe Higashi Hongwanji, and the Hawaii State Veteran's Cemetery. The family requests no koden or flowers.