Florence Teruko Hashimoto's Obituary
FLORENCE TERUKO HASHIMOTO
Born on April 28, 1928 in Honolulu, Hawaii, above the family store (Nu‘uanu Cash & Carry) at 16 Kapena Lane, to Shigeo Shirai and Haruko (née Nakata) Shirai. The eldest of four children, Florence attended Royal Elementary, Central Intermediate, and McKinley High School. She was especially close to her maternal grandparents who lived on Akepo Lane (near Honolulu Community College) since her father and mother were busy with the store. Subsequently the births of her three younger brothers Harry (Betsy) Shirai, Wilfred Shirai, and Richard obm (Monique) Shirai kept her quite busy.
Florence truly loved school and education. She was a bell ringer on the Royal School all-girls bell choir. She was the attendance monitor for her high school section and worked on the Black and Gold Yearbook. To her chagrin she was unable to continue her Japanese language schooling due to World War II and the closure of the Japanese language schools in Hawai‘i. She continued her education at the Margaret Dietz Commercial School.
Married to Larry Takashi Hashimoto on April 12, 1953 by Judge Clifton Tracey. They settled in a 2-bedroom cottage in Lower Kaimuki where the family lived until 1976. She had two daughters, Valerie and Sandra. In July 1976 the family moved with Florence’s mother and father to Clubview Estates in Kaneohe where she lived until her passing.
Florence continued to work between and after the girls were older. She especially enjoyed her jobs at Terminal Steel, Kaimuki Public Library and at UH Manoa Hamilton Library card catalog section from 1970s until early retirement in the 1980s.
A warm loyal friend Florence was an active supporter of the McKinley High School Class of 1946. She regularly attended events and reunions in Las Vegas and Honolulu. She and Larry (who passed away in 2006) also attended many of the 442 RCT functions along with Larry’s buddies from HQ2nd. A recent family highlight was a trip to Washington, D.C. to accept the Congressional Gold Medal for 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion, and Nisei serving in the Military Intelligence with her daughters and 3 granddaughters and to meet Senator Daniel Akaka and his staff at his offices in the Hart Senate Office Building.
Florence passed away peacefully on August 30, 2013, in Fullerton, California, surrounded by family.
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