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Agnes Chiyoko (Takeuchi) Ushijima, age 88, passed away peacefully on January 10, 2023.Born on August 20, 1934 to Shirota and Tono Takeuchi in Honolulu, Hawaii, Agnes was the youngest of seven children. After graduating from Roosevelt High School, she earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Her lifetime of adventure was shaped by her inquisitive, gracious, caring, adaptable and resilient nature.
Agnes married her college sweetheart, Ronald, in 1956 and they soon relocated to New York as he began a 22-year career as a U.S. Army officer. Agnes embraced her responsibilities as a military spouse while continuing her own career as an educator. As the family moved from New York to Germany, Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, Okinawa, Pennsylvania and back to Hawaii, she continued to teach elementary school and later, English as a Second Language at Moanalua High School. Relocating from place to place, Agnes worked hard to ease the transitions for the family and took charge on the home front, especially when Ronald was deployed to Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
After she stopped teaching, Agnes ventured into a new career, obtaining her real estate license, and working for Spencer Realty and other companies, winding up at Coldwell Banker.
Her genuine interest in getting to know new people and learning about new cultures also supported Ronald's later responsibilities with the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii and in his community service work. She was by his side at countless events and travelled to Japan many times to help represent the Japanese Chamber.
With Ronald, Agnes continued to enjoy traveling and grew to love watching sports, especially UH football and basketball. She was also a keen follower of politics and other current events, and a voracious reader whose day was not complete without finishing the paper's crossword and Jumble puzzles.
But perhaps the most special of all her roles in life was being a loving and supportive mom, grandma and great grandma. She could always be counted on to be there as a cheering fan, to provide a listening ear and to help with every need.
Agnes will be deeply missed, but she left a great example of how to live–adapting to whatever life brings, keeping an open and curious mind about people and the world, and unconditionally loving and supporting her family.
Agnes is survived by her husband, Ronald Ushijima, daughter Lynne (Kevin) Unemori, and son Douglas (Marilyn) Ushijima; grandchildren Christopher and Chelsea Unemori and Maya and Kara Ushijima; great grandson Elijah Unemori; and brother George (Carol) Takeuchi. She was predeceased by parents Shirota and Tono Takeuchi and siblings Jane, Patsy, Barbara, Clarence and Lillian.
Private services were held.
Arrangements Provided By:
Nuuanu Memorial Park & Mortuary LLC
