Funeral services for the late Alice Kiyoko Kikkawa, 87-year-old, Los Angeles-born resident of Pasadena, California who passed away on April 2, 2019, will be held on Saturday, April 20th at the Pasadena Buddhist Temple, 1993 Glen Ave. in Pasadena. At 10:00 AM there will be a Buddhist service with incense offering in the temple. Beginning at 11:00 AM there will be a Celebration of Alice's Life held in the adjacent gymnasium. Aloha or casual attire requested.  The family kindly requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Little Tokyo Service Center - Budokan in memory of Alice Kikkawa,   https://give.ltsc.org/AliceKikkawa  

Alice Kiyoko Kikkawa was born on July 21, 1931 in Los Angeles, California as the only child of James and Edith Shigeishi.  Her parents were born in Hawaii and moved to California during the roaring 20's.  The family settled in South Pasadena where Alice attended elementary school.

During World War II, her family was initially interned in Santa Anita then moved to Camp 2 at Gila, Arizona.  During her time in camp, Alice was active in the Girl Scouts and maintained a close friendship with her Scout leader, Ms. Barks, for decades.

After the war ended, her family relocated to South Pasadena, California where she graduated from South Pasadena High School and John Muir Junior College.  After junior college, she attended cosmetology school and worked briefly as a beautician.

She was introduced to Robert "Lefty" Kikkawa during social club gatherings in the early 1950's.  Robert was a member of the Pasadena Ayes and Alice was a member of the Kaperettes.  The couple hit it off and were married in 1953 at the Chapel of the Roses in Pasadena.  They honeymooned in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe and later settled in Pasadena.

Alice and Robert have four children, Debbie, Sharon, Don and Ken.  After Debbie was born, Alice became a full-time mother and homemaker.  They also lost a son, Alan, in infancy. They have ten grandchildren:  Ryan, Kerianne, Cameron, Kelsey, Colin, Kendall, Jason, Kyla, Claire, and Alina.  Alice is also survived by several cousins, and many nephews and nieces.

Sports was an integral part of family activities. They played lots of sports at family gatherings and also attended almost all of their children's and grandchildren's games in multiple sports.  In 1972, Alice, Robert and a few other families founded the Pasadena Bruins and were big supporters of youth sports.   Alice and Robert travelled to Japan on eight different occasions, four of which were with different Yonsei basketball teams that their grandchildren played on.

The family enjoyed many vacations in Mammoth and Hawaii.  In recent years Robert and Alice also enjoyed regular trips to Las Vegas and going as frequently as every other month.

Alice was a kind and loving wife, mother, and grandmother.  She was dedicated to her family and they were her pride and joy. The family was blessed by her love, generous heart, and warm spirit - in addition to her gifts of cooking and baking for large and small family gatherings.  She will be dearly missed and remembered with great love as the backbone and rock of her family.