Seichi (Harvey) Kaneshiro
SEICHI (HARVEY) KANESHIRO
Sei Kaneshiro, who had roots in Koloa and Waipahu, passed on February 7, 2011. He would have been 98 years old on February 15.
Sei was born in Ewa in 1913 and grew up on Kauai. The eldest of Ushi and Kama Iha Kaneshiro's eleven children, Sei loved playing baseball and barefoot-football.
While working at Kauai Motors, Sei met a young woman from Oahu who was practice teaching on Kauai. Sei married Leatrice Fumiko Arakawa on October 24, 1940. After WWII, Sei and Lea moved to Oahu, and Sei started working at Arakawas Store managing the hardware and garden department. The couple added to the extended Kaneshiro and Arakawa families when Lea gave birth to a daughter, Dew. After 25 years of marriage, Sei lost his beloved wife to cancer.
Sei worked at Arakawas for 50 years, until the store closed in 1995. He enjoyed traveling, talking story, and offering coaching advice from his lounge chair to University of Hawai'i athletic teams. He enjoyed the last five years of his life at the Hawai`i Kai Retirement Community with new-found friends and staff whom he thought of as family.
Sei is survived by many who loved him: His daughter, Dew Kaneshiro, son-in-law Christopher Grandy, and grandchild, Devon Kaneshiro Grandy; brothers Seiso, Sugar (Dorothy), Mamo (Joen), Danny, and James (Esther); sister Yone Gushiken; in-laws Shigemi Arakawa, Joan Taba, and Goro Arakawa; and many, many nieces and nephews.
Service at Mililani Mortuary, Mauka Chapel, on March 2, 2011. Visitation 5:30 to 6:30; service 6:30 to 7:30. No flowers.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
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