Kisae Hashimoto

Kisae Hashimoto was born in Gresham, OR on October 15, 1920 to Asa and Rikizo Shiiki, the second of three daughters (Arie Oishi and Sumie Tsunemitsu) and two brothers (Tan and Ray). Kisae passed peacefully on February 19, 2018, as beautiful in death as she was in life. She had wonderful memories of her childhood on the family farm that included hard work, but also lots of fun time spent with an extensive network of Issei and Nisei families in the Hood River area. She excelled both academically and athletically with basketball being her favorite sport. The family was interned at Minidoka but she and Sumie were granted work release. She met her beloved husband, George Hashimoto, in Ontario, OR. They were married on November 30, 1945, and celebrated 70 years of marriage before his passing in 2016. They had three children: Alan (Kate McKeehen), Becky, and Brian who passed in 2009. She was our rock, our matriarch and our Bachi. She has left an unforgettable legacy to grand- and great-grandchildren: Christina and Jack Weaver (Taz LaRose), Sasha and Ed Santoro (Saverio), Amanda and Logan Phillips (Brooklyn and Nola), Barry Kawaguchi, Remy and Joshua Barker (Wyatt), and close family friends, Suzy and Dale Fox. She is the last of her generation in both the Shiiki and Hashimoto families.

Kisae was a woman way ahead of her time. She and George truck farmed in South Park before moving to their own farm and greenhouse in Boulevard Park. While not only working the farm and raising kids, she managed to serve twice as PTA president, was a member of the Garden Club, Birthday Club and honorary member of the Grandmothers' Club, was both a Boy Scout and Camp Fire Girl leader and chauffeured her children all around the Pacific Northwest with their various activities. After moving to Angle Lake in 1964, she took successive jobs at Strom's Cleaners, The Boeing Company and Hussman NW Refrigeration, retiring in 1982.

Kisae was a fabulous cook and baker which her family will greatly miss, though her presence lives on at family dinners where favorite recipes continue to circulate. Sunday family dinners were sacrosanct where the incredible food was only slightly less anticipated than the competitive card games that ensued. She loved to garden, read, bowl, golf, ballroom dance, do ikabana, needlework, aqua aerobics and go to the casinos where she won more than she lost. She was in essence an energizer bunny who loved celebrating holidays, birthdays and entertaining her children and grandchildren. In her later years, she and George religiously attended her grandchildren's activities, traveling everywhere in rain or shine to claim their seats on the bleachers and cheer for their teams. Kisae volunteered at Kokoro Kai, an adult day center, for 25 years and was a participant until she passed.

Kisae taught by example and the occasional pinch to the arm. She lived an honorable life, loved her family and her friends, and always thought of others' needs before her own. She was very beloved by all who knew her as a warm, affectionate person with great personal strength and a lady in every sense of the word. We will miss you always.

Many thanks to Aegis Living at Totem Lake and Evergreen Hospice for the sincere, loving care given to her. A family-only celebration of life will be held in the near future. Remembrances suggested to Kokoro Kai at Keiro Northwest.