Helen Mukai passed away peacefully on July 20, 2021 at age 92 in Torrance, CA.  Helen's family held a pre-cremation viewing at Fukui Mortuary on Friday, July 30 from 9am-10am.

One of three children of Noboru & Ayame Mukai, Helen was born on Ft. Kamehameha Road at Pearl Harbor, Oahu. Her father's family came from Hiroshima, Japan to Hawaii in the 1920s to work on a pineapple plantation in Wahiawa. Noboru returned to Japan in 1928 to seek a bride and married Ayame Yamamoto in an arranged marriage.  Her family, also from Hiroshima, had earlier immigrated to Oahu's North Shore to work at the island's largest sugar cane plantation in Kahuku where Ayame was born and raised.

Returning to Hawaii to start a family and a new life, the Mukais first settled in Kalihi, then later moved to the Manoa Falls area, where Noboru worked in a flower garden/nursery and became a gardener.

Among her many talents, Helen was a gifted artist like her siblings and in her youth painted beautiful landscapes and still lifes. After graduating from McKinley High School in Honolulu, Helen moved with her family to Los Angeles, Calif. to seek a better life.  She studied stenography at Los Angeles Trade Technical College and with her newfound skills obtained a job with the State of California.  She held that position for over three decades and became a distinguished retiree.  Helen had a great sense of humor and gift of gab that manifested in a breathtaking ability to recall in great detail fascinating and often hilarious stories of growing up in Hawaii and California.

Helen was predeceased by her parents Noboru & Ayame (Yamamoto) Mukai; sister Florence (Rikio) Higa and brother John (Janet) Mukai.  She is survived by loving nieces Lori and Jennifer (Terry) Wakayama; nephews Max, Randy (Kazue) Higa, and Richard (Doreena) Mukai; sister-in-law Janet; and other relatives in Hawaii and across the country.  There was no funeral service at this time.  The family will hold a private memorial service upon interment at the Mukai plot in Valley of the Temples cemetery in Kaneohe, HI when it is safe to do so.