Kauai Resident Hina Miyashiro Marks Milestone 105th Birthday

Hina Miyashiro celebrated her 105th birthday on Wednesday surrounded by family and staff at the Kauai Care Center in Waimea, where the centenarian has become a beloved fixture of the Lokahi wing.

Kauai Care Center staff marked the occasion with characteristic warmth. "Happy birthday, Hina!" they said, before adding a playful pledge: "We're going to wait for 110."

Activity Coordinator Keala Huffman, who last year was photographed fitting birthday glasses to Hina for her 104th celebration, has watched the community's affection for the longtime Kauai resident grow with each passing year. Some residents have long believed Hina worked as a nurse at a shopping center, though Huffman noted that the claim remains unverified. "Some residents claim Hina was a nurse at the shopping center, but there aren't any means of confirming that," Huffman said. What is clear, Huffman added, is that "Hina loved her work and loved helping people feel better."

Prior coverage of Hina's 104th birthday offered a vivid portrait of her personality. She spent that day indulging her favorite pastime, licking lollipops, at the Kauai Care Center, and she made her preferences known when staff briefly took the lollipop away. She protested silently until she was offered a chocolate flake from a special birthday cake provided by Aloha Delight Bakery.

At her 104th celebration, Hina was surrounded by sons Wayne and Alan Miyashiro and daughter Janice Bourgeois of Honolulu, while daughter-in-law Judy Miyashiro, Alan's wife, helped get her ready to meet guests. Daughter Amy Miyashiro coordinated the day's festivities, though she was absent from the group photo.

The 105th birthday celebration continued that tradition of family and community gathering at the Lokahi wing, where Hina, as she has before, remained the unmistakable center of attention.