Obituary

On May 16, 2024, Kikue Matsuoka, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother passed away peacefully in Lake Forest, California of natural causes, after a long battle with dementia.  She was 87 years old.

Kikue was born, along with her twin sister Kikuko, on July 22,1936 in Hakalua, Hawaii, to parents Ryotei and Tsuruko Arakaki.

She is preceded in death by brothers George and Stan, sisters Hanako, Irene, and Kikuko, and grandson James (Jimmy) Pequeno.   She is survived by sister Fumie and brothers Ted and Bobby.

Also mourning Kikue’s passing are her children: Dwayne (Marcia) Matsuoka, Maria (Ted) Mayer, Angela (Robert) Pequeno, Paula (Ron) Hunsaker, and James (Julie) Matsuoka, along with her seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Kikue often spoke fondly of her childhood growing up on the big island of Hawaii.  Her father worked in the sugar cane fields, while her mom was a homemaker to their house full of active children.  One lasting memory for Kikue was at the tender age of 5 years old when, on the morning of December 7, 1941, she recalled watching the planes of Imperial Japan flying over her island on their way to attack Pearl Harbor.

Kikue had a loving, kind-hearted spirit and enjoyed helping others. This spirit led to her admittance and graduation as a registered nurse from the Queen’s Hospital School of Nursing in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1957.

During her time in nursing school, she was active in her dormitory where she was a member of the Student Association, with leadership roles as secretary and Vice President on the Religious Committee.  Kikue enjoyed participating in Christmas plays and May Day programs. Her school’s 1957 class pledge was “Kindle the growing flame into a blazing torch as we go forth into the community to serve humanity” and, as a nurse, Kikue took that pledge into her heart and made it her goal for life.

Later, Kikue met and fell in love with James Matsuoka from Kona, Hawaii and they were married on March 21^st, 1959.  Soon after, they left Hawaii and moved to Inglewood, California where Kikue worked as a nurse at Daniel Freeman Hospital, in Los Angeles.  It was during their time in Inglewood that they welcomed the birth of all five of their children.  In 1974, the young family moved to Garden Grove, CA., where Kikue worked as a registered nurse at Saint Joseph Hospital in the city of Orange, CA.   In the year, 2001, after 27 years, Kikue retired from nursing.  Collectively, Kikue worked as a nurse for 44 years!  In retirement she enjoyed working in her garden and taking her grandkids for visits to Hawaii.

Although Kikue’s final years were tainted by the effects of dementia, her life was one of love and service to others, especially her family, adhering to that class pledge from her nursing school from so many years before.  She will be greatly missed.