Jean Hatsue Sakumoto's Obituary
Jean Sakumoto Obituary
Jean Sakumoto, our dear mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family on November 16, 2023 at the age of 91. She graduated from McKinley High School in 1950, then soon started her career at Montgomery Motors where she met her future husband, Kenneth (Ken) Sakumoto. Jean soon became a bookkeeper at the Accounting office for Leslie Ajifu, then Gerald Ushijima. She later retired from the State of Hawaii Department of Education but continued to work as a tax preparer and bookkeeper till a few months before her passing. Besides keeping her mind sharp by preparing taxes, she loved to cook and host her family for weekly home cooked dinners, spend time with her family and friends, travel, tend to her orchids, watch K-Dramas, work on daily crossword puzzles and Wordle, and exchange text messages on her iPhone with her friends. Survived by her children: Sharlene (Bradley) Chang, Lori (Keith) Yafuso, Dwayne (Anne) Sakumoto, and Denise (Russell) Hisamoto; 10 grandchildren (Jamie, Kelsey, Alyssa, Tyler, Jennifer, Erin, Jody, Taylor, Brandon, and Taryn); 4 great grandchildren and many other close family and friends. Jean was preceded in death by her loving husband of 52 years, Kenneth; parents, David and Ethel Yamada; sisters, Margie Hagino and Katherine. Private services held. In lieu of monetary gifts (koden), family and friends may make a donation in her memory to the organization of their choice or to the Malama Ola Foundation, who provided hospice support to Jean and her family during her final days.
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