Warren Kanai Obituary

WARREN SHIGEYUKI KANAI February 28, 1947 - May 2, 2025 Hi, my name is Warren Kanai, and I died last month. I grew up with two older siblings, Chester and Catherine, and a younger sister, Noreen. We had fun growing up together in the quaint 1950s McCully neighborhood with a lot of neighborhood kids running around, a few with a bag of marbles, or a Duncan yo-yo, or even a slingshot in his pocket, looking for a challenge. Our parents owned a small tofu factory, so us young kids would go and help with small chores and tasks or just make mischief. This continued through our high school years until college and careers disrupted this free labor cycle. My career choice was engineering and together with my wife, Cheryl's, RN salary we comfortably raised four childrenJennifer was born on my 25th birthday, Michael came two years later, followed by Stephanie, and finally Michelle. I am proud to say that all our kids grew up to be very successful adults. By "successful" I mean they grew up to be caring and respectful of others, compassionate toward the weak, and humble in all their pursuits. Oh, and they are all animal lovers. The reason they all developed this generous character is solely because of the untiring efforts of their mother, Cheryl. I am immensely grateful to her and love her no end for all the sacrifices she has made for me and our children. I was also blessed with five grandsons: Remy and Ronan Laciste (Jennifer and Ednelson), Aidan and Connor Griess (Stephanie and Jamie), and Henry Kanai (Michael and Nicole) who was born a decade after his older cousins. Michelle and Will also contributed two very spoiled grandpups to our `ohana. Finally, I am very grateful to the doctors, nurses and staff at the Straub Medical Center who kept me going for 13 years after my initial cancer diagnosis. So I am now ashes confined to a tiny fancy vase with my name engraved on it. But I am also in a different place. I have simply returned to where I came fromto the vast cosmos of star dust, the material that created me in the first place. Please be a good girl, Izzy. Private services already held. Arrangements Provided By: Nuuanu Memorial Park & Mortuary LLC