Evelyn Yokomizo Shinsato's Obituary
Evelyn Yokomizo Shinsato
February 14, 1930 to July 16, 2025
Evelyn Yokomizo Shinsato died peacefully on Wednesday, July 16,2025, in Waipahu. She was 95.
Evelyn was the daughter of Hisaji and lneyo (Kanda) Fukumoto and grew up in Pahala, a sugar plantation town in Ka'u, Hawaii. She graduated from Mid-Pacific lnstitute, then studied dressmaking and design at the Fashion Center School, and the Style Center in Honolulu. ln 1952, she married Tsutomu Yokomizo in Pahala then moved to Molokai where they raised five children. Evelyn was the organist at Guzeiji Soto Mission in Kaunakakai, and filled in as needed at other churches on the island. She was a member of the University Extension Women's Club, and shared her piano and sewing skills with many Molokai youth. Twelve years after Tsutomu died, Evelyn married Kenzo Shinsato and moved to Anchorage, Alaska. For 26 years, they enjoyed ballroom dancing, criss-crossing the Lower 49 by car, and fishing/smoking/canning salmon. They spent winters in Hawaii, returning permanently in 2018. Kenzo passed away in2022. Evelyn is remembered for her serenity, kindness, and life-long love of music. As a child, she rode in the back of a milk truck from Pahala to Hilo for piano lessons. Even with dementia, she continued to play the piano. She is survived by five children - Myra (Skip) Peterson, Lei (Robert) Spangler, Fay (Simon)Akindes, Marge (Robert) Bento, and Kyle (Michelle) Yokomizo; five grandchitdren, three great-grandchildren, and hanai family -Terry (Nancee) Shinsato, Macen (Lori) Shinsato, and Kim (Dan) Wade, and their children. Evelyn is also survived by her brothers Alvin (Sharon Niwa) Fukumoto and Clyde Fukumoto.
Services are scheduled on Saturday, Oct. 11, at Soto Mission of Hawaii in Nuuanu. visitation at 9 a.m. and funeral at 10 a.m. Private burial will follow at the Valley of the Temples. ln lieu of koden, the family suggests memorial donations to the Alzheimer's Association Hawaii or Guzeiji Soto Mission Molokai.
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