Obituaries for Sunday, November 27, 2022
Mary Yoshimura
Mary Yoshimura
Mary Yoshimura, 91, of Wailua Houselots, passed away on Oct. 15, 2022. She was born on Dec. 13, 1930, and raised in Kilauea. She was a retired custodian for Kapa‘a Elementary and Middle School.
She is survived by her husband of 70 years Masashi Yoshimura, daughters Penny (Dennis) Purviance and Patty Yoshimura, grandsons Kaili (Sara) Purviance and Kanoa Purviance, great-grandchildren Benjamin, Emilia and Chandler Mary Watts and sister Charlene Sarita.
A celebration of life is Saturday, Dec. 3, at St. Sylvester Church in Kilauea, with visitation at 9:30 a.m. and Mass at 10 a.m.
Mamoru Kaneshiro
Mamoru Kaneshiro, 96, also known as “Mamo,” “Daddy,” “Uncle” or “Grandpa,” passed away peacefully at home on Aug. 18, 2022, with family at his side. He was the eighth of 11 children born to issei Okinawan immigrants Ushi and Kama Iha Kaneshiro on Feb. 22, 2026. They lived in Banana Camp mauka of the Koloa Ball Park. The household consisted of eight boys, three girls, two parents and Auntie Iha, who arrived from Okinawa and assisted the family with child rearing.
In childhood he attended Koloa School. As a child he learned hard work by assisting his father with the family hog business. In 1937 at the age of 11 he and his older sister Yone were sent to Okinawa for over a year to keep their grandmother company. Homesick, they pleaded to come home to Kaua‘i.
They returned to Koloa in 1938 before the war with Japan began.
He attended Kaua‘i High, where he excelled in sports. He was a star quarterback and was selected to the State of Hawai‘i’s all-star team. Quite an accomplishment for a 5’ 3”, 140-pound young man. With five of his brothers as teammates, he also played for the Koloa barefoot football team. After graduation in 1945 he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He spent a year in the Military Intelligence Service before serving an additional year in the regular Army. He was honorably discharged In 1947.
After being discharged he remained on O‘ahu. On a 1948 photo of Haruko Joen Higa with two girlfriends and Mamo in the background of the picture is printed “hearthrob.” So it was to be, and they married in 1950.
They remained on O‘ahu and started their family with Serene and Meryl. They moved back to Kalaheo in 1953, where their three sons Derwin, Mark and Troy were born. Mamo and Joen were married for 72 years. Mamo and Joen began a lifetime of working for themselves. At first he started a peddling business, converting a truck to transport and display the goods he sold to plantation camp families. Not long after that he became the landlord for a group of homes owned by Mcbryde known as Kaneshiro Camp in Kalaheo. He raised chickens, he had a poultry feed business and opened the Kaneshiro Market in Kalaheo.
He was a devout Christian. He always gave of his time and he always shared almost anything he had of value, even when he was in debt. He was one of the founders of the new Kalaheo Missionary Church that opened in 1957.
In the 1960s Mamo and his brother Seiso traded their properties and Mamo moved his family to ‘Oma‘o. He started raising hogs commercially as well as operating the Kaneshiro slaughter house. He and Joen worked literally day and night. It was during this time that his sons became active in Koloa youth baseball and football. Mamo coached and umpired for over 20 years. His contribution to the youth of Koloa was recognized when a new locker room at Koloa Park was named for him. He was also a Boy Scout leader.
In the 1970s with his children reaching adulthood and looking for work, Mamo made the decision to modernize the farm. All new buildings were constructed to house up to 2,000 animals. The family pitched in to do the construction and completed the task in two years. The business took off and the farm had enough pork to supply all the Kaua‘i markets, lu‘au and hotels. They even had a surplus of animals and would ship feeder pigs to O‘ahu to help with their market needs.
Mamo’s contribution to the farm industry was recognized when he was selected Farmer of the Year. He also became a board member of the Hawai‘i Federal Land Bank.
With the next generation of Kaneshiros taking over the business, he and Joen found time to attend grandchildrens’ and great-grandchildrens’ events. They attended football, volleyball, baseball, track, soccer, softball and cross country games and meets. They also attended hula and Okinawan dance recitals.
He cherished his Okinawan ancestry. He was a member of the Kaua‘i Okinawan Club Hui Alu and served a term as president of the club. He claimed Okinawans were “hard headed but had good hearts.” He passed that pride down to his family.
He had a great memory until the very end. He would share stories of the sacrifices and escapades that his parents and their generation of Uchinanchu endured after moving to Hawai‘i. In his eighties and into his nineties Mamo didn’t slow down. He became a team member of “Go Hawai‘i” that made trips all over the world to provide physical support and spiritual fellowship to areas that were in desperate need of help.
He traveled to drought-stricken Kenya, assisting with irrigation, Ishinomaki, Japan to assist with cleanup after the devastating tsunami, New Orleans to assist with cleanup after Hurricane Katrina, and Thailand to assist with building construction.
Even at the age of 96 he was still determined to help others.
Mamo is survived by his wife Haruko, sister Yoneko Gushiken, brother and sister-in-law James and Esther Kaneshiro, sister-in-law Dorothy (Sugar) Kaneshiro, daughters Serene (Gary) Towner, Meryl Momohara and companion Gerald Alvaro, sons Mark Kaneshiro, Troy Kaneshiro and daughter-in-law Margaret Kaneshiro, grandchildren Kimberley (John) Medeiros, Kellyne Capuano, Kurt Momohara (Kimberly and ‘ohana), Ahren (Shantel) Kaneshiro, Caitlin (Llowen) Towner, Brianna Kaneshiro and Alyssa Kaneshiro, great-grandchildren Jenivieve Kaneshiro, John Medeiros, Jason Medeiros, Kichelle (Emily) Momohara and Kaelin Capuano, great-great-granddaughter Sofina Medeiros, countless family members of Kaneshiro, Iha, Higa and Oshiro ‘ohana, as well as many close friends.
He was preceded in death by son Derwin and daughter-in-law Valerie Kaneshiro and grandson Eben Kaneshiro.
The family wishes to recognize the caring support that Kaua‘i Hospice provided during his final weeks. Mahalo to the many friends and family who stopped by to lift Mamo in spirits and prayer or just drop by to support the family with gifts of food and drink. Mahalo to the many family members who made time to watch, feed and provide comfort so he could spend his last earthly days in the comfort of his home.
Mahalo to the staff of Garden Island Mortuary.
Private services have already been held.
Jo Ann Ishie Nakamura
Jo Ann Ishie Nakamura, 95, of Hanalei, passed away on Oct. 28, 2022. She was born on Feb. 20, 1927. She retired from the Princeville Makai Cottages.
She was preceded in death by husband Joseph S. Nakamura Sr., parents Shokichi and Ume Umetsu, siblings Shizue Uyeda, Miyoshi Takahashi, Kikue Umetsu, Kichiro Umetsu, Yoshi Fujii and Yui Kojima.
She is survived by sons Joseph (Barbara) Nakamura Jr., Robert (Grace Bradford) Nakamura, Wayne (Carolyn) Nakamura and Dennis (Valerie) Nakamura, grandchildren Janine (Leonard) Rapozo, Joni (Richie Ogata) Nakamura, Jeana (Reid Yoshida) Nakamura, Jeffery Nakamura, Wendy (Ryan Shishido) Nakamura, Chad (Andie) Nakamura, Aaron Nakamura and Lynsi (Marcus) Deforge, great-grandchildren Cal Rapozo, Cade Rapozo, Shaelyn Tavares, Preston Nakamura, Makayla Nakamura, Joseph Nakamura, Tessa Nakamura, Christian Nakamura and Bryten Deforge, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Private services were held. The family requests no koden (monetary gifts).
Heide H. Lardizabal
Heide H. Lardizabal passed away peacefully on Sept. 18, 2022 in Wailua, at the age of 82. She was born in Berlin, Germany on Sept. 25, 1939. She loved the Lord with all of her heart. She was as a butler at The Princeville Hotel, a carriage driver for The Westin, a cashier at The Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort & Spa, handled intake for the YWCA, and a waitress for the Spindrifter.
She was preceded in death by parents Kate and Hans Hensen, husband Alfred C. Lardizabal, brother Uwe Hensen, brothers-in-law Maurice Lardizabal Jr., Glenn Lardizabal, David Ibsen and grandson Isaac Kanealama Lardizabal.
She is survived by children Perry (Dee) Lardizabal and Sonya (Jess) Lardizabal-Quel, grandchildren Ashley (Kevin) Cremer, Mariah Pai, Kaileen Lardizabal, Mikelle and Chelsi Quel and Kailee Loa Sugihara, great-grandchildren Kaisen Yanos, Ezrin Cremer and Braden and Kaylee Ramos, sister Rose Holthaus, sisters-in-law Charlene Arita, Carmen Mercado, Florence Lardizabal and Maureen Octavio, brother-in-law Scott Lardizabal, nieces and nephew Susan Woods, Jennifer and Christopher Holthaus, and many more family and friends.
A celebration of life for both Alfred and Heide Lardizabal is Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Kapa‘a Seventh Day Adventist Church. Visitation with family will be from 9 to 10 a.m. and service to follow.
The family would like to thank Kaua‘i Hospice, Kapa‘a, Lawa‘i, Wai‘anae and Central Seventh Day Adventist Churches for their love, support and prayers.
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Merrily Ruth Worrell
Merrily Ruth Worrell, a longtime resident of Kalaheo and Lodi, California, passed away on Oct. 14, 2022 in Gilroy, California. Born in Philadelphia on Aug. 25, 1942, she was a retired doctor of education in counseling psychology.
She was preceded in death by parents Raymond Rodger Worrell and Florence Emma Worrell (Williams) of Saratoga, California.
She is survived by her beloved sister Carol F. Lajoie and her husband A. David Lajoie of Salinas, California, brothers Robert G. Worrell of Oregon and Frederick R. Worrell and his wife Rhea of Arizona, niece Heather J. Lajoie and nephews Alan R. Lajoie, Eric R. Lajoie, Joshua Worrell and James Worrell, and numerous cousins, life-long best friend Beverly Templeton of Galt, California, and so many friends both on Kaua‘i and in California that are too many to name. She truly loved you all and cherished each and every one of you.
She was 6 when her family moved to Saratoga, California, where her parents built a home and lived there for over 50 years. She was a graduate of Los Gatos High School in 1960, then attended college in Tacoma, Washington, at Pacific Lutheran University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in music in 1964.
She sang with The Choir of the West, which toured Europe, giving concerts in several countries, and volunteered at a training center which raised guide dogs for kids, where she got her first dog, Cloud.
Moving to Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, she taught K-12 music classes for several years, then relocated to California to work at the Stockton State Hospital as a music therapist, and also worked as a social case worker for San Joaquin County.
She then became a secondary grade school teacher, teaching various programs from 1969 to 1996, during which time she received her master’s degree from the University of San Francisco in 1979.
Living on her ranch in Lodi, she bred, trained and showed Arabian horses, and gave riding lessons for kids. She worked as a program coordinator, counselor and teacher at the Human Potential Center in Stockton, where she received an Outstanding Citizen Award in 1986 from the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission of San Joaquin County for her exemplary service to the young people of her community. In 1989 she also received a Citizen of the Year award from the National Merit Scholar Phi Kappa Phi.
In 1996, she moved to Kaua‘i to work on the Mokihana Project as a doctoral fellow on the psychology staff, and also worked as an educational consultant in private practice.
She continued her education at University of the Pacific in Stockton, where she received her doctorate of education in counseling psychology in 2002. Then she worked at the Hina Mauka Substance Abuse Treatment Center as a counselor and educator, and went on to become the program services manager for the Mental Health Kokua on Kaua‘i, where she retired in 2012.
Her interests includes attending the Hanapepe United Church of Christ, where she sang in the choir, helped at the Kokua Shop and served on the diaconate. She was a member of the Kaua‘i Polo Club, and did the score sheets in 2006 and 2007. She taught the AARP driving course for seniors, loved geckos and roosters, and always had really great dogs. She did art projects and wrote marvelous stories, of which some were published. She also volunteered at the Kaua‘i Humane Society shelter on Kaumuali‘i Highway outside Puhi.
Donations can be given to the Kaua‘i Humane Society in her name by mail to Kaua‘i Humane Society, P.O. Box 333, Lihu‘e, HI, 96766, or online at kauaihumane.org.
There are no planned services at this time.
Marilyn Heck
Marilyn Heck passed away on Nov. 15, 2022, in Port Townsend, Washington, at the age of 87. She was born May 19, 1935 to John and Pauline Abele near Fosston, Minnesota. In addition to her birth state, she lived her younger years in Oregon, California and Montana, and visited many other states and countries during her lifetime. There was one place amongst her travels, though, that captured her heart — Kaua‘i. So, upon her retirement in 1996, she relocated to Princeville, briefly, and then to Kalaheo for the balance of her 25 years on the island. But she didn’t stop working when she retired. She volunteered for years at The Salvation Army Soup Kitchen in Hanapepe, helped clean up Salt Pond Beach Park, and defended the monk seals on Po‘ipu Beach. She recently left Kaua‘i to be closer to family on the mainland. Her joy, smile, laughter, and free spirit will be deeply missed.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, six brothers, parents and two grandsons.
She is survived by her daughters Lorrie Fjerstad of Lengby, Minnesota, and Suzanne Hand of Port Towsend, Washington, five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
She will be interred in Valier, Montana, next to her husband Clayton Heck. Her family welcomes you to share and view memories and photos of her on the Kosec Funeral Home website at: tgilinks.com/3u1v1Ij
Anthony Keali‘i Arnezto Jaramillo
Anthony Keali‘i Arnezto Jaramillo, 72, passed away at his home in Kapa‘a on Nov. 17, 2022. He was born in Lihu‘e on Aug. 25, 1950, and worked as a maintenance technician at Plantation Hale.
He was preceded in passing by parents Mariano and Beatrice Jaramillo.
He is survived by wife Deborah Jaramillo, children Hinano (Chris) Jaramillo and Moani (Cornel Jr.) Lum, siblings Abby (Warren) Palmeira, Harry Jaramillo and Mary (Gene) Phillips, grandchildren Naia, Kaui and Kaili, great-grandson Kailer, and his faithful companion Buddy.
Services will be announced after a later date.
Kaua‘i Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
Rose Marie Lopez
Rose Marie Lopez, 83, of Kalaheo, passed away on Nov. 21, 2022 at Hale Kupuna Heritage Home in ‘Oma‘o. She was born on Jan. 21, 1939, in Waimea. She was a graduate of Kapi‘olani Technical School in culinary arts. She was a retired prep cook and caregiver.
She was preceded in death by parents Joseph and Margaret Correa, husband Charles Lopez Sr., brothers Thomas Harold Correa, Richard Correa, Jerry Correa and John Correa, sister-in-law Betty Correa and daughter Gail Lopez.
She is survived by sons Charles Paul (Corina) Lopez Jr. and Brian John (William Mandel) Lopez, daughter Margaret Marie (William) Rita, sisters-in-law Maxine Correa and Mary-Lou Correa, grandchildren Linette Rita, William Rita Jr. and Charles Lopez III, great-grandchildren Logan Gonsalves and Ka‘ena Rita, and numerous uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins.
A service is Thursday, Dec. 1, at Garden Island Mortuary in Lawa‘i. Visitation with family is from 2 to 3 p.m. and Mass at 3 p.m. The family suggests casual attire and welcomes flowers.
Garden Island Mortuary is assisting the family with the arrangements.
Frank Costa Rita
Frank Costa Rita passed away on Nov. 6, 2022, at Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital at the age 93. He was born on July 19, 1929, in Kalaheo. He was a mechanic for Kukuiolono Golf Course in Kalaheo and within the community as well as a former employee of Rollins Dairy in his younger years.
He was preceded in death by parents Gabriel and Rose Rita, son Patrick Brustowicz, daughter-in-law Karen Kanahele, grandchildren Verna Rita and Rhonda Rei Mederios, and siblings Antone, Gabriel, Joseph, Madeline and Emily.
He is survived by wife Lita Rita, brother Alfred “Freddie” Rita, sons Ronald Brustowicz, Nelson Rita, Frankie Rita, Lawrence (Jolene) Rita, Erik (Cherisse) Rita and Ashley (Tania) Rita, daughters Gloria Rita and Sheila Rita, 20 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A service is Thursday, Dec. 1, at Borthwick Kaua‘i Mortuary, with visitation from 10:30 a.m. and Mass at 11:30 a.m. The family requests casual attire.
Borthwick Kaua‘i Mortuary is assisting the family with arrangements.
