Elaine Toshie Urabe

Elaine Toshie Urabe passed away on June 15, 2024, at the age of 83 in the comfort of her home in Fresno, CA. She left this life as she lived, gracefully and surrounded by loved ones. Elaine was born on May 27, 1941 on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu to Torao and Kazue (Naganatsu) Fujisaka and was the fourth child of five children. She is preceded in death by her parents and two older brothers Stanley Fujisaka of Kaneohe, HI, and Ken Fujisaka of San Francisco, CA and nephew David Hew Len of Denver, CO. Elaine is survived by her beloved sisters Jane Hew Len of Denver, CO and June Ching of Kaneohe, HI. Elaine was very close to her sisters and would often meet up with them in San Francisco, Denver and of course Las Vegas.

Elaine graduated from Castle High School in Kaneohe in 1958. In 1959 she followed her older brother Stanley to Fresno, CA to attend Fresno State College earning a BS in Liberal Arts in 1965. While attending Fresno State she met her husband, George Urabe, and they married in 1964. George and Elaine started a family and had three sons: Jay, Lee and Kevin. Elaine grew up a tom boy, playing in the countryside with her siblings and local kids, often getting into mischief. This is likely why she adapted so well to having three sons; all of whom played sports and would rough house daily. However, Elaine really wanted a daughter, so much so, that she only picked out girl names before each son was born. So, Elaine had to come up with boy names on the fly at the hospital. Fortunately, Elaine was “Bachan” to two granddaughters. Elaine is survived by her husband George and three sons, Jay of Fresno, CA, Lee, his wife Ruby and their two daughters Maile and Mia of Clovis, CA, and Kevin of Fresno, CA. She’s blessed to be survived by many nieces, nephews and in-laws in California and Hawaii.

After a brief time as a social worker, Elaine stayed home to raise her boys in Fresno. While raising her boys, Elaine shared her talents of arts and crafts, one being bakers clay. The family would get together annually to make Christmas tree ornaments and decorations. Needlepoint and crocheting were her escape from her boys and work. Elaine made beautiful Hawaiian patch blankets and pillows. She also made unique luggage tags and yarn covered hangers that she frequently gave away as tokens of love. She could sing and later in life learned to play ukulele. She even made a push to get Jay and Lee to learn to play the piano with years of lessons and very little results besides being able to play the Star Wars theme song. By the time it was Kevin’s turn to take piano lessons, she recognized her attempt had failed and Kevin got to play the drums. The Urabe house on Jackson Avenue was full of neighborhood kids and those kids became the testing ground for Elaine’s kitchen creations which would become the future menu items of Dai-Ichi’s and Mika’s. In 1981, Elaine changed the Japanese Restaurant scene in Fresno and opened up the now famous Dai-Ichi’s of Farmer’s Market. From 1981 to 2005 Dai-Ichi’s and Mika’s became her home away from home where she got thousands of Fresnans to try and love Japanese food. In addition, she was able create a place that not only welcomed customers but also became a second family for her employees. Many personal relationships, experiences and memories have come from Elaine’s restaurants and ability to share her aloha with them. Her favorite thing was visiting with people and seeing them enjoy her meals.

She carried this hospitality over to the Fresno Buddhist Church and Fujinkai by volunteering for many of the church's events and fundraisers. Elaine’s favorites were the Food Bazaar and Obon Festival. She loved celebrating Christmas and New Year’s with the family making delicious food including her popular layered jello. And she looked forward to the Urabe Family Reunions, especially casino night or when they were held in Las Vegas. Elaine was heck of a craps player. Not only did she leave us with rice bowls and Aunty Elaine’s salad dressing, but she also left us with fond memories and the feeling of Aloha!

Private Service for Elaine will be held.