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90, passed quietly June 15, 2020 at her home in Los Angeles. She was born in 1930 in Hanapepe, Kauai to Gyusho and Ushi Miyashiro who worked in the Kekaha Sugar Plantation. She grew up in Kekaha and graduated from Waimea High School in 1948. She earned a Regents Scholarship from the University of Hawaii, graduating in 1952 with a degree in teaching. She worked her way through college as an au pair for Dr. Robert T. Wong of Honolulu and left for California after graduating from UH. She married Fred Ichinaga, raised a family, earned a Masters degree in Education from UCLA, and had a successful career as an educator. She taught in public schools throughout California and worked as a school psychologist. She became principal of Bennet-Kew Elementary School in Inglewood, California serving for over 25 years. She worked to improve the quality of education for her students. Her schools consistently scored in the top percentiles in reading and math, matching their more affluent peers, and she gained national prominence as an innovative and effective educator. She was appointed to the California State Board of Education by Governor Gray Davis. She is survived by her three children, Jon Ichinaga, Loraine Shimada, and Ann Gushurst and their spouses, five grandsons, Grant, Russell, Ryan, Noah, and Will, sister Sue Gerrish, brothers Roger, Douglas, and David Miyashiro, relatives in Okinawa and Brazil, and several nieces and nephews and their families. She was predeceased by siblings, Morris Miyashiro and Misao Higa. Due to the pandemic, a memorial cannot be held at this time. The family requests memorial donations, if any, be made to the Japanese American National Museum.
90, passed quietly June 15, 2020 at her home in Los Angeles. She was born in 1930 in Hanapepe, Kauai to Gyusho and Ushi Miyashiro who worked in the Kekaha Sugar Plantation. She grew up in Kekaha and graduated from Waimea High School in 1948. She earned a Regents Scholarship from the University of Hawaii, graduating in 1952 with a degree in teaching. She worked her way through college as an au pair for Dr. Robert T. Wong of Honolulu and left for California after graduating from UH. She married Fred Ichinaga, raised a family, earned a Masters degree in Education from UCLA, and had a successful career as an educator. She taught in public schools throughout California and worked as a school psychologist. She became principal of Bennet-Kew Elementary School in Inglewood, California serving for over 25 years. She worked to improve the quality of education for her students. Her schools consistently scored in the top percentiles in reading and math, matching their more affluent peers, and she gained national prominence as an innovative and effective educator. She was appointed to the California State Board of Education by Governor Gray Davis. She is survived by her three children, Jon Ichinaga, Loraine Shimada, and Ann Gushurst and their spouses, five grandsons, Grant, Russell, Ryan, Noah, and Will, sister Sue Gerrish, brothers Roger, Douglas, and David Miyashiro, relatives in Okinawa and Brazil, and several nieces and nephews and their families. She was predeceased by siblings, Morris Miyashiro and Misao Higa. Due to the pandemic, a memorial cannot be held at this time. The family requests memorial donations, if any, be made to the Japanese American National Museum.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
