Revelation
21:4
“He
will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no
more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain
anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Proverbs
12:28
In
the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no
death.
Celebration
Of The Life Of Herbert Allen Shimoyama Jr.
On
February 10, 2021 a wonderful son and brother, Herbert Allen
Shimoyama Jr. passed away and went to be with the Lord. He is now at
peace with no more pain or suffering. We are all heartbroken as he
left us way too soon.
Herbert
Allen Shimoyama Jr. was born on May 23, 1976, the bicentennial year
in Philadelphia, the son of Sonja Hoffmann and Herbert Allen
Shimoyama. During Herb’s younger years he explored many religions,
determining his religious beliefs was an eclectic mix of many
religions. It was what sustained him through his life as he endured
many medical obstacles; jaundice, skull fracture, Osgood Sclatter’s
Disease and finally IgA N
europathy.
Though
plagued with these conditions he still lived life to the fullest as
much
as possible.
He was an avid reader of Sylvia
Browns books, as
well as others and
believed we all choose
our paths before
being sent here.
Many times he said “I must have drunk too much wine in Heaven to have chosen such a difficult
path”.
Despite
his medical situations Herb was able to be on honor roll, skip 11th
grade and receive a college scholarship.
Being
inter-racial, Herb embraced his many cultures and ethnicities with
curiosity and wonder. He especially pursued the culture and clothing of his
Japanese
heritage
and
was heavily into anime. Herb loved that he was the amalgamation
of
so many cultures and made it a point to know and understand each one.
He
believed it was one
of the things that made him unique.
Herb
loved the martial arts and
had
an obsession with
Bruce Lee and his techniques, studying
them intensely.
Sadly at
twelve, when
he was taking one of his belt tests for Tae Kwon Do, he had
a hard landing and ended up with Osgood Schlatter’s Disease.
Herb’s
favorite holiday’s were Halloween and Christmas where
he went all out. On
Halloween
he’d
decorate the yard, then dress up so he could
scare the children and
have fun with them.
Many
cars passing by would stop and let their children get out because
of the decorations
for their
children to
trick or treat. On Christmas
he enjoyed decorating the yard with as many
decorations
as he could find
room for on the yard.
His Christmas yard
decorations can still
be
viewed
on You Tube. (
https://youtu.be/sO2zd0r8UzI)
While
growing up Herb could never get enough of the outdoors. Bike riding,
fishing, swimming, horseback riding, canoeing and
going
to places
such
as Great Adventure and national parks.
Friends
gave him rides on their Harley’s but he always wanted to own one
himself. In fact, he would spend hours at the dealership looking at
bikes and buying accessories. Unique
sport
cars he
enjoyed
and always
tried
to get to the
annual car show. He
liked going to the Franklin Institute where he could interact with so
many things.
Herb
belonged to several organizations in his earlier years. Big
Brothers, he had two; Police Athletic League (PAL) and the Variety
Club. During some summers he went to summer camp for two weeks. A
chance for
him to
meet and make new friends.
He
was
fascinated
with
all the new technology
and devices, wanting
to be the first to get it. He
enjoyed
sharing his knowledge with anyone who would listen, making
himself
available to friends and neighbors to fix their computers or
assist with other devices.
It seemed he just had a natural knack
for it.
He
loved animals and had many kinds while growing up and as an adult.
He had fish, turtle, salamander, two parakeets (Tweetie & Ponch),
two cats (Snuggles & Stormie) and two big dogs (Maxx & Kane).
Kane was a pet therapy dog that Herb took to the nursing to interact
with the patients there. They loved the weekly visits with Kane.
Herb
was intrigued
with the paranormal, UFO’s,
Bermuda Triangle, the black hole and the earth’s magnetic field
spending many hours watching shows and researching about them.
Gaming
was something
he started
at an early age with Pong and Atari. First
shooter and fighting games were his
favorite. It
was a hobby he really enjoyed which
he used to get rid of his frustrations. When
he was upset it was a release for him.
Listening
to his
MP 3 player was his way of relaxing. He enjoyed listening to music
to get his mind off things and just relax. Herb listened to many
types of music; soul, gospel,
alternative
and rock & roll.
Herb
never believed in working for someone only wanting to be an
entrepreneur. His goal was to have passive income and pursued many
avenues trying to find that perfect fit for himself.
He
never married seeking to be in a financial position to take care of a
family first. Later he felt his illness would be a hindrance to a
wife and many women couldn’t handle his illness. He had always
hoped to have a family one day.
It
was only after his father’s death he was able to connect with his
siblings. He was so happy they were all able to connect and share
stories, they were surprised to learn they had many things in common.
In
May 2006, on his birthday; Herb found out he had IgA N
europathy,
a
hereditary
disorder which attacks the kidneys most likely coming from his Japanese heritage. It
is
an
orphan disease with no cure. In February 2007, Herb went into renal
failure and started a never ending process of dialysis. He was
excited when in July of 2009 he was given a kidney transplant but at
the end of 2010 the IgA Neuropathy attacked
the transplanted kidney and he was back in renal failure March 2011.
Herb
spent the last quarter of his life battling and
dealing with the IgA
Neuropathy. In
his last few years there was work being done on an artificial kidney
which he was looking forward to hopefully being one of the first
recipients of. Sadly it was not to be.
Herb
looked at the world mostly in a positive light and what he could
contribute to make it better, especially for those also suffering
from the same illnesses and
diseases as
himself. He liked to joke around and have a good time and was always up for a good conversation about
the topics he liked and cared about.
There
are so many things Herb still was focused on accomplishing. He hoped for a world where all
kinds of prejudice
was a thing of the past and where technology had made diseases and
ailments a thing which
no longer existed. He
had wanted the stem cell research to progress more quickly then it
seemed to.
Herb
is survived by those
who shared his life even though maybe only briefly, his
mother Sonja Hoffmann; his
Siblings Mehoshi
Shimoyama, Keylisha Shimoyama, Chrysyn Harp, Eric Shimoyama, Anton
Briggs and Janene Hughes; his
aunts Linda Adams; Jeannie Cotton;
Isabella Unger; Arabella Greinwald;
his uncle Helmut Kraus; his
godmother Etta Loveheart.
We
celebrate Herb’s shortened
life;
Rest in Peace Herb
until
we meet again.
