Thomas Nikaido, 97, passed away peacefully at home on October 29, 2020. He was born in 1923 in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. His parents, Sunao and Tori Nikaido, emigrated from Fukushima-ken, Japan, and he was the fourth of five children. As a second generation American of Japanese Ancestry or Nisei, Thomas lived through some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century.
Thomas’ name at birth was Tsuyoshi Nikaido. In intermediate school, his counselor had trouble saying his Japanese name so he decided to call him “Thomas” after “doubting Thomas” from the Gospel because he constantly asked “how come?” or “why?” when the counselor told him to do something.
Thomas graduated from Farrington High School in 1941 and was a freshman at the University of Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked. As a memboer of the UH ROTC, which became the Hawaii Territorial Guard, he guarded civilian installations for 6 weeks. In February 1942, he joined the Varsity Victory Volunteers and then volunteered for the 442nd Infantry Regimental
Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion. He fought in three campaigns, including military action at Anzio, Italy, and Beaufontain, France, and was awarded a Purple Heart medal.
More recently, he received the Nisei Soldiers of World War II Congressional Gold Medal in 2011 and the Legion of Honor medal in 2019 from the government of France, given in sincere gratitude to soldiers who fought on French soil during WWII.
Thomas married Helen (Okamoto Fukuda) Nikaido in 1947. They remained together for almost 73 years, raising 5 girls. Over the years, Helen and Thomas enjoyed spending time with 2 granddaughters, 6 grandsons, 3 great-granddaughters and 2 great-grandsons.
Thomas worked as an electrician at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and specialized in gyroscope compass repair. He traveled to New York and Chicago for gyroscope compass training, and to Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia to train local electricians on repairing these compasses. We, his daughters, always looked forward to the gifts he brought home.
In 1983, he retired from the Navy for a few months, took a position in the maintenance department of Kuakini Hospital, and retired a second time as the supervisor of maintenance in 1995.
In retirement, Helen and Thomas enjoyed traveling to Japan, Europe, and several U.S. states where their adult children lived. They also vacationed in Alaska and Las Vegas, and on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island, where they spent their honeymoon.
Every day, Thomas read the Honolulu Star Bulletin-Advertiser and worked its crossword puzzle. He enjoyed watching samurai movies, WWII dramas and UH games on TV. He would play mahjong games on his iPad for hours.
In addition to his parents, Thomas was preceded in death by his wife Helen, a sister, Betty Koga, and three brothers, Edward, Robert, and Richard Nikaido. He is survived by his daughters (husbands), Arlene (Rick Lung), Karen (Paul McGuffey), Madelene (Schuyler Antane), Selene (Jay Raveill), and Tamasene (Howard Young), eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
A private service was held.
