Obituary of Kazuko Hawkes

Kazuko was born on January 21, 1943 in Yokohama, Japan. When she was three years old at the end of World War II, she moved to her mother's hometown of Okinawa. She was a happy girl and enjoyed singing songs at a very young age. In elementary school, Kazuko was very active and curious about everything. She never missed school and received an award for perfect attendance. In middle school, she was interested in learning English and sang popular American songs all the time. In high school, she joined the brass band and played the baritone, even though she was such a small person. She also mastered several years of flower arrangement training and received a teaching certificate from Ikenobo, which is a very popular traditional Japanese flower arrangement school. After high school, she went to an English language school to learn English, also mastering English typing and becoming a typist at an American company. Around that time, she met her future husband, Ted Hawkes. They were blessed with the addition of daughter Lisa to their family in 1971 and soon thereafter left Japan to begin their life in the United States. After spending some time living in Kansas, Ted & Kazuko moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where daughter Theodora (Teddie) completed their family in 1974. They spent time in Kentucky and San Diego before settling down in the Pass Area in 1982 - first Beaumont for three years then in Banning until the time of her passing. Kazuko worked for over 21 years at Deutsch, receiving many awards for her attendance and master skills. She enjoyed spending her free time with her children and grandchildren, actively participating in dance recitals, gymnastic competitions, and traveling across the state to various destinations. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, precious older sister and beloved friend to many. Kazuko is survived by her daughters Lisa (John) Renfro, and Theodora (Carl) Douglas; sisters Shoko (Keith) Agee, Yuriko (Yasuyoshi) Nagamine, Shizuko Ikemura, and Mitsuko Miyagi; brothers Shigeru (Shizuko) Shimabukuro and Kyusei (Yayeko) Shimabukuro; grandchildren Kimiko Renfro, Kahlan Douglas, Savanna Douglas, Titania Ryan and Edward Renfro; great-grandchildren Eathen Ryan, Christian Ryan, Hayden Ryan, Nathan Ryan and Payton Ryan; and many other relatives both here in America and Japan who loved and adored her. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ted Hawkes of Banning; sister Tsune Nakachi of Japan; and Takeshi Shimabukuro of Japan.