Eulogy by Joshua Kamisugi
My name is Joshua and Edwin Kamisugi was my grandpa. On behalf of my grandma Diana, my dad Lance and mom Diana, Uncle Keith and Auntie Grace, and Uncle Wade, thank you for being with us today to say goodbye to him and honor his life of service to his country, service to our community, and as a provider for his family.
Grandpa was born in 1944 to Aisuke and Sameyo (Watanabe) Kamisugi in Waipahu. He was the youngest in an already large family with sister Kay and brothers Mitsuo, Henry, George, Robert, James, Raymond, and Donald. Many of grandpa’s siblings were already adults when he was born, so he was lucky to have more than his dad and mom taking care of him.
Grandpa met my grandma Diana at Waipahu High School where they were both in the Class of 1962. They were high school sweethearts and got married when they were both 20 years old in 1964 at Waipahu Soto Zen Temple.
My grandma probably had many boys to choose from, so grandpa was very lucky that grandma agreed to marry him.
Only two years later, grandpa was drafted into the Army National Guard and went to Vietnam. 58,000 American men and women died in the Vietnam War and we’re lucky that grandpa survived and returned home to grandma and my dad Lance, who was born before grandpa left for the war.
Grandpa was honorably discharged from the service as a Specialist E-5 and we will be giving him a small private service at Punchbowl tomorrow.
After grandpa came home from Vietnam, him and grandma had my uncle Keith. And then four years later, my uncle Wade.
Grandpa started working as a salesperson for ABC Chemicals in Waipahu and then formed a company, Tri-Tech Associates, with Earl Yoshida. He tried some side gigs like a landscaping business with Scott Yamauchi. Grandpa probably wanted to go into business with friends like Tracy Katoku, but they were smart to keep him as just a drinking buddy. Tri-Tech Associates didn’t work out and grandpa went to work for Chemical Sales, Votec and then Univar, and retired in 2012.
Grandpa served in the Mililani Lions Club for many years and also volunteered to help Mililani High School’s legendary athletic director John Kauinana on many projects for the school’s sports programs. In a newspaper article about Coach Kauinana’s retirement in 2001, Coach John said that my grandpa was his “backbone” and “the main man in all those volunteer projects.”
My grandpa was also one of Coach John’s regular drinking buddies. The two became close after my dad finished his career as starting fullback for the Mililani football team.
Much of my childhood was spent with my grandpa and grandma in their house where I would go after school. Grandpa spoiled me and it was a good time in my life.
After my grandparents both retired, they got to spend a lot of time together taking cruises and many trips to Las Vegas. Grandpa liked to take photos of the slot machine anytime he won big.
Two years ago, grandpa got cancer and it was pretty tough for him. Grandma took great care of him and he was able to last as long as he did because of her. Uncle Wade did a lot of work driving them to doctors’ appointments and taking care of household business. My dad and mom helped grandma take care of grandpa. Uncle Keith and Auntie Grace got to spend a lot of time with grandpa and grandma on their trips to Vegas.
Towards the end, all of us were with grandpa in the hospital. We tried to make him as comfortable as possible and although he couldn’t speak in his final days, I think he was happy that we were all together.
We love you, grandpa. Thank you for your life and for our lives. In many small ways, you helped make the world a better place and we’ll always remember you.
