Helen Motooka Nakashima

Helen Motooka Nakashima, 95, of Kahului, Maui passed away peacefully on June 27, 2025. She was a loving & devoted wife to Edwin "Jojo" Nakashima who passed away in September 2005.
Helen was born and raised in Hana, Maui to Yasutaro and Fujiko Motooka. She was the eldest daughter of nine children and had many fond memories of growing up in Hana, where she attended Hana High & Elementary School and graduated from the Old Maui High School in Hamakuapoko. She also attended Business School in Honolulu.
Helen was a secretary at Hana High & Elementary School before transferring to Maui High School when she and Jojo moved the family to Kahului in 1970. She retired after more than 40 years of service with the State of Hawaii.
Throughout retirement she enjoyed spending time with grandchildren and traveling with family. She fondly recalled traveling through Japan, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Her favorite trips were to Honolulu and San Diego to visit her children, and the many trips she took with Jojo to Las Vegas with her siblings and their families.
In 2020, she moved into Hale Makua Kahului. It was important to her to stay active as she rarely missed the scheduled activities and events. She enjoyed playing hanafuda with her friends and created so many beautiful paintings that they couldn't all fit on the walls of her room. Bingo was one of her favorites, day or night. She was always on the go, using her walker to take daily walks around the resident neighborhoods to visit friends and get exercise.
Helen is predeceased by husband Edwin "Jojo"; parents Yasutaro and Fujiko; sister Alice; brothers Jiro, Stanley, Richard, Melvin and Jerry. She is survived by sons, Dean and Alan and daughters, Doreen (Blaine) Crawford and Alison (Mark) Tiwanak; older brother Masao Motooka and younger sister Elaine (Nathan) Ichimura, as well as many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 31, 2025, at Nakamura Mortuary in Wailuku. Visitation begins 9:00 AM, Services 9:30 AM. Burial 1:00 PM at Maui Veterans Cemetery in Makawao. Family requests Aloha attire.