WAIMEA — Hina Miyashiro spent her 104th birthday indulging herself with her favorite pastime — licking lollipops — at the Kauai Care Center.
Surrounded by her two sons, Alan and Wayne, and one of her two daughters, Janice Bourgeois. of Honolulu, Hina was the center of attention at the Lokahi wing. She protested silently when the lollipop was given a break and settled down only after being offered a chocolate flake from her special birthday cake from the Aloha Delight Bakery.
Missing the fun was daughter Amy Miyashiro, who, according to son Alan, planned the entire festivities, including having lunch and birthday cake in the Kauai Care Center gazebo bathed by cooling winds in the rapidly increasing Waimea heat.
Instead, Hina’s longtime neighbor, Roy Miyashiro — not related to the birthday girl — could squeeze into the Lokahi wing in time for the birthday cake and memorable songs by Virgie. Roy said he was Hina’s eyes and ears when her children lived away from Kauai.
Hina was born on March 11, 1921, the oldest daughter of Tamasuke and Misako Hayashi in Kukuiula, a plantation camp near the current small boat harbor.
Hina, the eldest of five siblings, graduated from Kauai High School in 1939.
According to a biography provided by the Kauai Care Center, many girls of that time did not go to high school, and Hina was thrilled to be able to attend Kauai High School. However, to participate in high school, she would do maid duties when not attending weekly classes. She would go home on weekends for family time and chores.
Her dream was to have a college education, but she met and married Toshio Miyashiro when she was around 22 years old.
Toshio worked at the McBryde Sugar office until his retirement and at the McBryde Federal Credit Union for even longer.
The couple had four children and moved to Eleele from Numila around 1955.
In Eleele, Hina worked for the medical clinic in the shopping center and McBryde Sugar Company from high school until she retired.
Keala Huffman, the Activity Coordinator for Kauai Care Center, said some residents claim Hina was a nurse at the shopping center, but there aren’t any means of confirming that. Huffman said Hina loved her work and loved helping people feel better.
“Happy birthday, Hina!” said the Kauai Care Center staff. “We’re going to wait for 110.”
