Memorial Service
June 27, 2015
Presented by Trudy Rebollo, Daughter

Dad wanted this letter from my cousin read today.  Since my cousin, Kathy, couldn't be here, I'm reading it for her.  

First, I want to preface how Kathy is my calabash cousin. Her parents are Milton & Betsy Kobayashi.

My Dad knew Uncle Milt from grade school. They went to UH together and were in Chicago at the same time.  Uncle Milt was Dad's Best Man. Dad & Milt were both stationed in Japan, in the 50s:  That's when Mom met Aunty Betsy.

Mom & Aunty Betsy became lifelong friends and confidantes. In recent years, Mom would pick up some lunch and go talk story with Aunty.  One time, Dad wanted to go, but Mom said No! You stay home!

Betsy was visiting Mom in the hospital about three times a week; she even snuck into ICU before we knew others could visit Mom.  These are the ties that have made Kathy and me calabash cousins.

Now, here's Kathy's letter:

 
Dear Uncle Ken, Ryan, Terry, Lane, and Trudy,

I am very sad to hear of Aunty Charlotte's passing. She is one of my favorite aunties. I have loved her cheerful and resilient spirit. I have fond memories of visiting your house throughout my childhood. Mom and Aunty Charlotte would always enjoy catching up with one another. There was always laughter, talking about the kids, upcoming trips, house projects, relatives, common friends, and neighbors. I could tell that they had a true friendship and appreciation for one another.

Our Molokai, Alaska, and Maui trips with your family were filled with the fun Aunty Charlotte created. She always knew how to direct and encourage us if we were bored. She made up games, or gave us suggestions of things we could do. Aunty Charlotte had a zest for life, and we were always impressed with her flexibility and optimism.

You and Aunty Charlotte were always part of the most cherished occasions of my life trips, New Year's, graduations, birthdays, weddings. She was someone who always kept in touch by calling, or stopping by.

My thoughts are with you, because I know that you miss her dearly. I like to think of Aunty in heaven, reunited with Kimo and laughing with Mary.

Love. Kathy

Charlotte Muraoka
FCE Convention
Memorial Service, October 18, 2015
Hilo, Hawaii
Presented by Patricia Kubo

Charlotte Mae Muraoka was a member of Hui o Makani FCE Club and the Windward Oahu FCE Council. Charlotte was an HAFCE Member for over 50 years and would have received her 50 year certificate last year at the Maui Convention. She held many leadership positions as council and club president, secretary and vice president. In 1963, the Hui `O Makani Club was organized and Charlotte was one of the founding members.

Charlotte demonstrated her facilitative leadership skills by organizing and participating in FCL.  In 1998, the first Hawaii Spirit of FCL award was presented. The winner of this honor was Charlotte Muraoka.  Charlotte continued to demonstrate her leadership skills by helping organize the Brown Bag lectures at Windward Community College, several Political Forums and many other leadership workshops. She was a terrific leader and taught us many bonding games and shared activities to help develop our leadership skills.

Charlotte loved making ikebana arrangements. Her flower name was Suirei and she belonged to the Sogetsu Ikebana School. At the Ikebana International 10th World Convention in 2012, in Tokyo, Charlotte was honored for being a part of Ikebana International for over 45 years. 

Charlotte was born on December 1, 1934, in Wailuku, Maui. She passed away on May 7, 2015 at Castle Medical Center, in Kailua, after a long stay in the ICU.  She is survived by her husband Kenneth Muraoka (who is an HAFCE Family member), her sons Ryan and Lane Muraoka and her daughers Terry Muraoka and Trudy Rebollo.  She also had 7 grandchildren. 

We will miss Charlotte and will be passing out this magnetic memo holder decorated with a mini flower arrangement. I hope you will put this on your refrigerator and remember Charlotte when you look at it.

Charlotte Muraoka
in Memory
(Written by Karen Kirk)

Charlotte Suirei Muraoka passed away on May 7, 2015.  She was not just a member of Chapter 56, she was an upbeat, positive fixture. Charlotte served as president from 1994-1996.  In recent years, she ably served as parliamentarian for several terms. 

Originally, a Maui girl, Charlotte was instrumental in organizing the I.I. Chapter 56 Maui safari which included a tour to the lavender fields in Kula. She also took advantage of one of the last Maui ferry rides to bring  ikebana vases and kenzans from a former member's estate for the Ways and Means Committee. 

Charlotte was my former neighbor as well as a fellow student of  the Sogetsu School. Her unpretentious front yard is an ikebana practitioner's dream. It is crammed with materials we all need. She was modestly generous with materials from that special area.

At the Ikebana International 10th World Convention in May, 2012, in Tokyo at the Sayonara Banquet, Charlotte was one of 20 attendees who was honored  for her I.I. Membership of more than 45 years. 

Once again, Honolulu Chapter 56 has lost another vibrant member. Those of us, who knew her well, know we were fortunate to share her friendship through flowers.

Charlotte Muraoka

Charlotte was a member of the organization which I am representing  The Association for Family and Community Education or FCE. We are a National organization with around 300 members here in Hawaii.  You might remember us by an old name  U.E. or University Extension.  Charlotte was a member for over 50 years and held many leadership positions. She was a council and club president, secretary and vice president.  In 1963, the Hui O Makani FCE club was organized, and Charlotte was one of the founding members.

Charlotte demonstrated her facilitative leadership skills by organizing and participating in FCL (or Family Community Leadership). This is an educational program of empowerment, designed to help individuals develop their personal leadership skills. It encourages citizens to get involved in the community decision making process.  In 1998, the first Hawaii Spirit of FCL award was presented. The winner of this honor was Charlotte Muraoka! Charlotte continued to demonstrate her leadership skills by helping organize the Brown Bags Lunch lectures at WCC, several Political Forums and many other leadership workshops. She was a terrific leader and taught us many bonding games and shared activities to help develop our skills.

Last year, our state convention was scheduled to be held in Maui. This certificate was to be presented to honor Charlotte for being a member of FCE for over 50 years. This was sent to Hawaii by our National organization which is located, in Kentucky. Due to a hurricane, the convention was cancelled and this certificate was not presented.  It was supposed to be awarded to Charlotte this year at the 2015 convention in Hilo. 

In October, at our Hilo Convention, we will be honoring Charlotte at our memorial service. I know all the FCE members in our group will miss her presence.  Hopefully, this convention will take place. A few years ago, our convention in Kauai, was interrupted by a Tsunami and we had to be evacuated to a high school gym. Last year, as I mentioned, we were effected by a hurricane. Charlotte will be remembered at a special service, as long as there is no natural disaster caused by Madam Pele. If you are in Hilo on October 18th of this year, please let me know so that you can join the FCE members in honoring Charlotte.

We will miss Charlotte and things will not be the same without her. Thank you!

As long as I can remember, I always looked forward to the annual Muraoka
Christmas Party. It was the one time of the year that I got to see all of my
cousins and uncles and aunties. Growing up this meant a lot to me and no
matter how crazy or hectic my life was at work, I always cherished those
few hours with everyone on Christmas Day.

Aunty Charlotte always reflected the true "Spirit of Christmas".  Her energy
and tireless efforts in organizing and hosting this special event cannot be
described in words alone. For some of us, we may have just taken this day
for granted, not realizing how much time, effort and planning was required
to ensure the success of this annual event. I did not realize all of this until
2013 when Aunty Charlotte asked me to help with the organizing and 
planning of the Christmas Party. This really opened my eyes to just how 
much she had been doing for so many years.

In closing, I would like to reach out to all of you, my cousins. As we the baby
boomers will soon become the next generation of "Kupunas", we must find
a way to keep this annual tradition which has lasted for over 40 years alive. 
We must pass on it's heritage to our next generation. This would be the greatest 
tribute that we could ever give to our beloved Aunty Charlotte.

Thank You.

Charlotte Mae (Ohta) Muraoka was my oldest and only sister.  

Her name:  She was named after Charlotte Wilson, the organist at St. Elizabeth's Church, which our mother attended.  Our grandmother died when our mom was a teenager and she had the responsibility of caring for 5 younger siblings.  I imagine she brought her siblings to church every Sunday and Charlotte Wilson admired her spunk, determination, and sense of responsibility.  Charlotte Wilson helped our mother in many ways - buying clothes at rummage sales, possibly even financially.  So Charlotte was named after Charlotte Wilson.  I don't know where her middle name Mae came from. 

Resourceful:  Charlotte was the original Google, even before Google was even thought of.  You could ask her any question about recipes, places to visit, restaurants, events going on in town, where to find something in Chinatown, and she would know the answer.  She could refer you to the right recipe book that a certain recipe came from. 

Leadership Abilities, Organizational Skills:  Today, Charlotte would be called a CEO.  She was a very active member of Ikebana International and probably served as island and state president. She was also a very active member of Family Community Education.  I do know she organized conferences on the outer islands, Maui in particular.  My mom would call me saying Charlotte was on Maui checking out venues for her upcoming conference.  This past February, I went with her to an FCE event at Queen Liliuokalani center in Kaneohe where her club was demonstrating spring and Easter crafts.  As we entered the room, an FCE member said, "Charlotte, we want you to introduce our group."  That same person said to me, "Charlotte does the best job talking in front of people.  I no can do that."

Observant:  Even as a young child, Charlotte was very observant of her environment.  Whenever we reminisced about our childhood on Maui, she would say, " Remember walking to elementary school, we would pass so and so's house with the mock orange fence."  Now, how many small kids notice plants as they are walking through the neighborhood and know the names of plants too!  Then she would mention the tamarind and shower trees in the churchyard next to our house and how they would make tamarind candy and play with the seed pods from the shower tree. She noticed not only the flowers, but the leaves, seed pods and branches which she used artistically in her ikebana arrangements.  Whenever we came to Oahu, she would comment on the shower trees on the way to Kailua and if they were blooming better than last year or not as well. 

World Class Cook:  Like our mother, Charlotte was an excellent cook.  She was fascinated with ingredients and foods from around the world. It was probably in the 80's when she took a cooking class from Titas Chang. So when we came for a visit, we went to Chinatown with her to pick out THE live chicken. Then on to the spice shop where she told the shopkeeper what she wanted. He opened various drawers from hundreds of drawers lining his shop walls, took a pinch of each spice and placed it on a brown piece of paper.  When he had gathered all the spices, he folded the paper and gave the bundle a solid whack.  At home, she put pieces of green onion, and some spices in a wok filled with water.  When the water was almost boiling, she dipped the chicken in for 10 seconds and pulled it out for 10 seconds. This was repeated 5 times, then the chicken skin was "conditioned" for it to be immersed in the simmering broth.  We enjoyed an incredible chicken dish with star anise, cinnamon and other spices.  All her children were unknowingly introduced to flavors and foods from around the world.  Lane didn't know as a child, that his chosen career was from being exposed to a wide variety of good food shared with family and friends from the time he was young.  

Artistic:  From the time she was small, she must have demonstrated her artistic ability.  I remember our mother saying, "Charlotte is so artistic.  She has long fingers."  She loved doing ikebana and various crafts using natural products from the environment like pandanus leaves for lauhala weaving.  On one of our visits, she was soaking pandanus leaves in the swimming pool so she could prepare them to weave into baskets.  Another time, we all went to a beach where natural puka shells could be found. On her visits to Japan, she was fascinated with the artistic way each shop family folded their gift boxes, their arrangement of food items, the origami, the patterns on fabric, their pottery and other forms of art.  While living in Japan when Ken was stationed there, she learned how to make Japanese dolls representing all walks of life.  She crafted their hairpieces, made their kimonos, gettas and all other intricate details.  The dolls were exquisite and beautiful.  

Aggressive, competitive:  My brother related how they would play games with the kids in the neighborhood and she would always win.  I was much younger and didn't get to join in those games, but in playing cards with her as adults I can agree.  She was always aggressive and competitive and would always play to win.  More so, riding with her through traffic in Honolulu you would know that she was one gutsy aggressive wahine driver.

Tour Guide:  She always had an agenda of interesting places to see when we came for our yearly visit.  Once it was seeing the locations where the movie, "The Descendants" was filmed.  Another time we saw a special exhibit of samurai swords at the Academy of Art.  More recently, it was the special exhibit at the Japanese Cultural Center of the internment camp on Oahu. Sometimes, it was traveling to Haleiwa to eat the best shave ice on the island at Masumoto's or trying a new restaurant noted for the best something or another.

Far Away Places:  Since Charlotte's passing, the following song has been "playing" in my head.

Far away places with strange sounding names 
Far away over the sea 
Those far away places with strange sounding names 
Are calling, calling me.

Going to China or maybe Siam
I want to see for myself
Those far away places I've been reading about In a book that I took from the shelf.

I start getting restless whenever I hear 
The whistles of a train I pray for the day I can get underway 
And look for those castles in Spain. 

Oh, they call me a dreamer
Well maybe I am
But I know I'm burning to see
Those far away places with strange sounding names 
Calling, calling me. 

We know Charlotte loved to travel to new places "with strange sounding names," and fortunately she was married to Ken who made all her traveling dreams come true.

We will miss our personal tour guide.  I will miss my only sister forever.

With Sympathy and Aloha,
Dave and Marilyn (Ohta) Johnson

Dear Mom, I miss you so much ~ your smile, laughter, warmth, help, memory, talents (including cooking all the ono foods!)...and your hugs' goodbye.  As I've grown older and have kids of my own, I've come to understand the big hugs and the tears you would shed, when we would say goodbye as I returned to the mainland or you would return home. My last big hug from you was when I left Hawaii in February 2015, and you & Dad dropped me off at the airport. Thank you for that, and for all your love and guidance over the years.  You were the best trooper while in the hospital - I was thoroughly amazed at how strong you were through the nine-plus weeks in the hospital. You have made me a solid believer in You. We are all thrilled that you were baptized in April. I love you, Mom. Always, Trudy

Dear Dad, you have given Mom a wonderful life as your wife for 60 glorious years! She was able to remain active in all the activities she loved - FCE, Ikebana, volunteering, traveling the world, visiting family & friends, hanging out at home. Thanks to you, Mom was happy. She raised four, perfect (ha!) children. She got to be with you... Thank you, Dad, for all the love and support you gave her until the very end.  But please realize that Mom is with her Lord in Heaven, and it is only the beginning of her eternal life.  Dad, we are all here for you ~ we are each a phone call or short drive (or plane ride!) away ~ whenever you need us. Much love to you, Trudy

OBITUARIO

Charlotte M. Muraoka

1 diciembre, 1934 – 7 mayo, 2015

Borthwick Mortuary

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