Masako Jane Hikida of Las Vegas, NV, passed away peacefully at the age of 95 on July 4, 2023, at Las Ventanas at Summerlin. She will be missed by her daughters, Wanda Kawahara Lee (Peter), Cynthia Alamshaw, and Tracey Graven (Lee). She was loved by her six grandchildren: Nicholas Alamshaw (Nathalie), Megan Bennett (Edward), Jonathon Graven (Ashley), Ethan Graven, Sarah Schiffman (Corey), and Kaitlyn Lee. Jane was blessed to have the opportunity to meet and play with her four great-grandchildren, Alexander (9 yr), Madeline Alamshaw (7 yr), and Joseph (3 yr) and Zachary (1 yr) Bennett. She was predeceased by her loving husbands, Motohiro in March 1961 and Tatsuo Hikida in February 2008, as well as her brothers, Robert and Akiro, and sisters, Yoshio and Michiko. Private interment services will be held later in Las Vegas.
Jane’s claim to fame began in September 1947, when she transferred from United College to train as a registered nurse at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She passed the State Board exams on November 15, 1950, and initially worked at Misericordia Hospital and then moved to Toronto Western Hospital. In the interim, Jane applied to become a stewardess (aka flight attendant) with Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA, now Air Canada Airlines), as she held the prerequisite RN degree. Her rationale was, "I thought it would be nice to take a shot at something different. You’ve only got a certain age limit to do it, and you can always go back to nursing." In April 1951, she received a telegram from Trans-Canada Airlines to report to Dorval Airport in Montreal, Quebec. After six weeks of training, Jane’s first flight was from Montreal to Winnipeg on a four-propeller North Star aircraft. As the first Japanese Canadian flight attendant, she was greeted with much fanfare from the Canadian, United States, and international press.
She was a loving mother, wife, and hard-working nurse who spent a lot of her free time sewing clothes for her girls. She also enjoyed cross-stitch and Japanese embroidery called Bunka. Jane was immensely proud of her family and leaves behind nothing but beautiful memories.
The family extends its thanks and appreciation to the staff of Las Ventanas for their love and dedication to Jane’s care for the last fourteen years. A special heartfelt thank you to Ann Osika, Med Tech and the second floor Assisted Living Staff, as well as the Activities Director, Linda Clayton and her assistant, Rhonda Reny.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmsouthjones.com for the Hikida family.
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