Isamu "Ralph" Kaneshiro passed away peacefully on March 24,
2024, at the age of 98 years. He is survived by his sister, Stella Hamada;
two children, Faith (Alex) Moy and Jonathan (Janet) Kaneshiro; five
grandchildren, Timothy, Joshua, Jenna, Nicolas, and Samantha; and
many nieces, nephews, cousins; and brother-in-law, Art Nozaki. He is
predeceased by his wife Helen Kaneshiro; by his sisters, Irene Kaneshiro,
Helen (Cramer) Washabaugh, Charlotte (James) Tachino, and Elsie Nozaki.
Ralph was born to Kohachiro and Uta Kaneshiro on a pineapple
plantation in Makawao, Maui, Hawaii. Later the family moved to Wailuku,
where Ralph graduated from Baldwin High School. His talents in music
were recognized there as he was a member of the choir. Thereafter, Ralph
was drafted into the U.S. Army as a member of the Military Intelligence Service. He trained at Fort
Shafter and was shipped to the Philippines when the war ended. Ralph served as an interpreter,
machinist's helper, supply clerk, and clerk-typist.
After his honorable discharge he served as a civil service worker at Pearl Harbor and then was
sent to Tokyo to work as a tabulating machine operator. At this time, his family moved to Aiea,
Oahu, Hawaii. After his return to Hawaii, he decided to move to the mainland to continue his
education as a computer data processor. He worked in this field until his retirement in the early
1980s due to illness.
When Ralph lived on Oahu, he met friends who invited him to Olivet Baptist Church, where he
received vocal training and was trained as a choir director. He continued serving the Lord in this
capacity when he moved to the mainland at Grandview Baptist Church. He met the church pianist,
Helen Ige, fell in love, and they were married in 1960. They raised their family in Gardena, Calif.,
where they lived until 2015 when they moved in with Faith and Alex. He lived with them until his
death.
Some of the hobbies he found meaningful during his rehabilitation and retirement were
gardening, karaoke, babysitting grandchildren, exercising, and Go for Broke National Education
Center meetings. He enjoyed going to the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute for lunch with
his buddies. He and his wife enjoyed traveling, especially to visit relatives in Hawaii, Argentina,
Peru, and Japan. He kept his heart in shape after cardiac rehabilitation by walking about a mile each
day and tending to his garden, which had about 30 pineapple plants, a peach tree, avocado tree, fig
tree, and grapevine at different times. He also enjoyed growing vegetables which he shared with
family and friends.
Whenever people asked why he lived to be 98 years of age, he gave credit to the hours he would
spend reading the Bible and praying each day. He also believed his grandchildren gave him a
reason to keep living. He put a huge emphasis on education with them and wanted to be sure they
each went to college and was able to live to see this come to fruition.
Isamu "Ralph" Kaneshiro will be remembered as a loving and generous father, grandfather,
brother, uncle, and friend. His beautiful singing voice, gardening advice, and prayers are a few of
the things that will be missed about him.