Marie Souza Kimseu's Obituary
Marie passed peacefully in her sleep on January 2, 2016, a week after celebrating Christmas Day with her family. Raised in Kāne‘ohe most of her life, Marie made full use of her time here on Earth and lived life to its fullest.
Marie began her work career as a bartender which lasted for a short time, and then later became a nurses’ aide at Saint Francis Hospital until she suffered a severe back injury while saving a paraplegic patient from falling from a gurney. As a result, Marie underwent a total of five surgeries on her back and was told by her physicians that she would eventually be confined to a wheelchair. Fortunately, this prediction never came to pass and Marie had full use of her legs until the very end.
A few years after her surgeries, Marie attended school at Kapi‘olani Community College where she majored in Secretarial Science. During the period of her attendance, Marie spearheaded an intercollegiate sports program where teams from all the community college Statewide organized both men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams. She volunteered as KCC’s Athletic Director and coached both the men’s and women’s teams. Although the teams did not achieve champion status during the years during her tenure, Marie enjoyed being of service and firmly believed that this period was among the best times of her life.
After graduating college, Marie went on to volunteer at Family Courts as a bailiff where she gained the respect of attorneys, judges and staff alike. This was another period in her life that Marie thoroughly enjoyed, and after volunteering there for a few years, Marie moved on to her final career in Security.
Marie first worked for what was then Burns International Security as a guard, first, then later became shift supervisor, team supervisor, then later a road supervisor that required that she drive to many posts islandwide, and in most cases, training new guards as well at various posts around the island. Marie worked for a few other companies throughout her career in security until finally retiring in 2008. Although Marie remained active during her retirement, her health gradually declined over the years. She was cared for by her granddaughter, Stana Mailelauli‘i Au, and her daughter and son.
Marie is preceded in death by her husband of 45 years, Carl Ayen Kimseu, and her daughter, Marcia-Ann Devers. She is survived by two sons, John and Jeff, and a daughter, Lucretia. She is also survived by sisters, Mildred, whom she also considered her best friend, Betty who retired to Arizona from La Puente, California, and finally, a brother, Walter Figueroa. Marie is also survived by her two loving Chihuahuas, ‘Ele‘ele and Kalani, both of whom miss her terribly.
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