Kimiye
(Kimi) Rae Hirata, was born on July 17, 1929 in Portland, Oregon, to Masao
& Koshige Akiyama. She had one older sister, Hatsumi "Sluggie"
Fujino, and one younger sister, Fumiko Jane Nishikawa. During WWII their family
was sent to live in the Minidoka Internment Camps, in Idaho. Kimi graduated
from the Portland Business School: Secretarial College. She married William
Tsuyoshi Hirata on October 7, 1950. William and Kimi moved to Seattle in 1955.
Kimi's occupations included bookkeeper, secretary and typist, and she spent 21
years working for the General Welding Supply Corporation. Kimi was an active
member of the Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church. She attended the Blaine Bible
Study, volunteered for many of the church functions, and was also a member of
the Blaine Bell Choir & the United Methodist Women's group. Kimi enjoyed her sports. She golfed in a group called the "Ladies Thursday Nine" for many years. She
also enjoyed watching the Seattle professional sports teams: the Sonics,
Seahawks and Mariners. Some of Kimi's
favorite pastimes & hobbies included: quilting, crocheting, painting and gardening. She also enjoyed doing puzzles, video games, arts & crafts, cooking, music and taking photographs. But her favorite pastime was family
gatherings, especially on birthdays and holidays. Kimi was preceded in death by her parents,
husband and siblings. She is survived by her four children Ron (Sharon) Hirata;
Donna (Mark) Young; Gwen (Larry) Ishino; and Curtis Hirata. She is also survived by eight grandchildren:
Lisa (Nathan) Chang; Courtney (Karstin Jacobson) Hirata; Kyle Young; Kristyn
(Luke) Okada; Tori (Alex) Chebotar; Haley, Zachary & Chase Hirata. Along
with six great-grandchildren: Eliana, Naomi & Mira Chang; Londyn &
Avalyn Okada; Andrey Chebotar. Kimi
lived her final years at Sunrise Senior Living in Mercer Island, WA.
She passed away peacefully on December 22, 2020.
