Nancy Sakiko Ichinaga

1930 - 2020

Nancy Ann Sakiko Miyashiro Ichinaga, 90, passed quietly in her home in Los Angeles on June 15, 2020. She was born in 1930 in Hanapepe, Kauai in the Territory of Hawaii to Gyusho and Ushi Miyashiro, immigrants from Okinawa, Japan who worked as laborers in the Kekaha Sugar Plantation. She never forgot where she was from. She grew up in Kekaha, a plantation town in Kauai and graduated from Waimea High School in 1948. She earned a Regents Scholarship from the University of Hawaii, graduating in 1952 with a degree in teaching. She worked her way through college as an au pair for a prominent doctor in Honolulu and left for California after graduating from UH. She lived in California for the rest of her life -- she married Fred Ichinaga, raised a family, earned a Masters degree in Education from UCLA, and had a successful career as an educator. She taught in public schools throughout California and worked as a school psychologist. She became principal of Bennett-Kew Elementary School in Inglewood, California where she served for over 25 years. She worked tirelessly -- and successfully -- to improve the quality of education for her students, primarily students of color with whom she identified. Her schools consistently scored in the top percentiles in reading and math, matching, and often exceeding, their more affluent peers, and she gained national prominence as an innovative and effective educator. She was appointed to the California State Board of Education by Governor Gray Davis. She was loved by her family, students, teachers, and staff. Nancy is survived by her three children, Jon Ichinaga, Loraine Shimada, and Ann Gushurst and their spouses, five grandsons, Grant, Russell, Ryan, Noah, and Will, sister Sue Gerrish, brothers Roger, Douglas, and David Miyashiro, relatives in Okinawa and Brazil, and several nieces and nephews and their families. Due to the pandemic, a memorial service cannot be held until later. The family requests memorial donations, if any, be made to the Japanese American National Museum.