Susumu Miyashiro

Susumu “Sus” Miyashiro passed away peacefully and comfortably at home in Huntington Beach, California on February 18, 2023.

Sus was born at home to Kameko and Kichijiro on March 19, 1931, in the rural Kapa’a homesteads on the Island of Kaua’i. Sus was a toddler during the Great Depression and turned 10 years old when the US entered World War II.  As the sixth of seven kids raised on a farm, his childhood involved feeding pigs and chickens, walking two miles to school, and running around with a pack of siblings and cousins. In his teenage years, he earned spending money by working in the pineapple fields for 25 cents an hour and was a “big” 120 pound offensive lineman on his high school football team.

Sus earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Hawai’i.  After college he was drafted and served in the US Army for two years in the Korean War, stationed in Japan.  He worked for the weather bureau on Wake Island, the US Department of Agriculture in New York City, and the California Department of Transportation in Los Angeles. It is there that he fell in love with Thelma, a pretty and spunky Maui girl. 

Sus and Thelma started their life together in Los Angeles before moving to Huntington Beach, where they raised their three children.  He had a long and successful career as a real estate appraiser for the County of Orange, Rapid Transit Department (RTD), and Federal Depository Trust Company (FDIC).  He also had a stint as an independent real estate appraiser and was an adjunct professor of real estate at a local community college. Both Sus and Thelma had a passion for business. They invested in residential real estate, and Thelma managed their family’s Tummy Stuffer sandwich shop for 17 years. Sus was an avid reader, world traveler, a doting grandpa, and enjoyed landscaping and gardening, especially on their vacation home on Kauai.

Sus is survived by his wife Thelma, his brother Lloyd, his three kids  Milton (Mary), Lisa (Nicolas), Howard (Carla), and his grandchildren Marissa, Micaela, Mark, Julien, Claire, Mathieu, Jake and Katelyn.

Donations in lieu of flowers and koden may be made to Homeboy Industries https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

If making a donation, please add in tribute to Susumu Miyashiro so that the family can be notified.

A wake will be held at Heritage-Dilday Funeral Home on Friday, March 10 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at 17911 Beach Blvd, Huntington Beach; a funeral mass will be held at Sts. Simon & Jude Parish on Saturday, March 11 at 10:00 am at 20444 Magnolia Street, Huntington Beach, followed by burial at Good Shepherd Cemetery at 11:30 am at 8301 Talbert Avenue, Huntington Beach.