Obituary: Shigeko Kaino, 94

Shig Kaino was born on September 9, 1929, in Vista, California, joining her older brother and sister. She grew up in the San Diego area on vegetable and strawberry farms. Shig had a love affair with the open fields and with the strawberries her family grew. When she was 12 years old, American policy during World War II changed her life. She was taken from the farm and incarcerated in an internment camp, facing a new life behind barbed wire that would keep her separated from her brother for about a year and from her father for over three years.

After World War II, her father took the family to Japan where she met Ted Kaino, a young man from Petersburg, Alaska, who'd been sent to Japan to go to school and was stuck there during the war. They fell in love and were married on April 18, 1949 in Taiji, Japan.

Pregnant with her first child, Shig traveled alone to Petersburg to be with Ted's parents, Shunichi and Hana, known to many as Papa and Mama Kaino. Teresa Louise was born on May 3, 1950, but died shortly after being born. Shig returned to Japan carrying the baby doll that Ted had given to her as a travel companion when she'd departed.

In 1951 Shig and Ted welcomed a son, Douglas, and shortly after their young family returned to Petersburg and it has been their home ever since. Another son, Kerry, was born in 1953 and their daughter Roxie was born in 1954.

Shig joined Ted, Papa and Mama at the Alaskan Glacier Seafood cannery where she picked shrimp, shook crab and did the bookkeeping. The cannery became a big part of their lives, and it was there, because of owners Dave Ohmer and his father Earl, that they experienced the likeness of an extended family.

Shig had a welcoming smile and a playful sense of humor. Her joyful heart was quick to embrace others. She had an inner strength to adapt, a willingness to endure, and a stubborn dedication to making the best of a situation.

Many friends throughout the years became like family to Shig. She loved them and also loved their dogs. She loved them all to the end, which came on August 23, 2024, just short of her 95th birthday. It is filled with that love that she is survived by her children, Doug, Kerry and Roxie; their families; and a whole host of beloved friends.

Shig received the best of care from her friends and a team of faithful caregivers, from the doctors, nurses and staff of the Petersburg Medical Center.

Shig and her family were particularly grateful for the consistent hands-on care given by the nurses and staff of Home Health. To those who would like to honor Shig's memory, donations and other expressions of support and gratitude for Home Health are greatly appreciated. Checks may be written to the Petersburg Medical Foundation with a designation in the memo line for Home Health.