Sister Mary Edward Sugioka's Obituary
Sister Mary Edward Sugioka, OSF
Sister was born in Pearl City, HI, to Yasuichiro and Isana Sugioka on October 8, 1930, and passed away just three weeks shy of her 95th birthday. Sister converted to Catholicism in high school and joined the Sisters of St. Francis after graduation in 1948. In an earlier biography, she wrote, “I am forever grateful for the gift of conversion as well as a vocation to my Franciscan family.”
Sister earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Dayton and taught elementary grades in Syracuse and Utica, NY, and Long Beach, CA. She dedicated 33 years of service to the people of Hawaii, teaching at St. Joseph School and Our Lady of Good Counsel School, working in the medical records department of St. Francis Healthcare System, and serving in the media center at St. Francis School. Over the years, her students and friends affectionately called her “Sister Eddie.”
In 2006, Sister Mary Edward was one of two senior volunteers chosen to spend three months at the Ohana English Preschool in Yokohama, Japan, as part of their Elder-Kids program.
Sister was a talented seamstress; her bright-colored, handmade dresses, blouses, and pants reflected her lively personality. Sister Eddie claimed her eternal reward on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, dying peacefully at Adventist Castle Medical Center in Kailua.
Her celebration of life will be held at St. Ann Church in Kaneohe on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., with a viewing starting at 9:30 a.m., followed by inurnment at Diamond Head Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Instead of flowers, donations can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, 46-068 Alaloa St. Apt. 207, Kaneohe, HI 96744.
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