Alice Hirai

Alice Setsuko Hirai

November 8, 1939 ~ December 24, 2016

Alice Setsuko Hirai passed away unexpectedly on December 24, 2016. She was born in San Francisco, California on November 8, 1939 to Lillian and Takasaburo Sekino. In 1942, Alice and her family were interned in Topaz, Utah as part of the relocation of Japanese-Americans during WWII. After the war, she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and graduated from West High School in 1958.

In 1962, she earned her B.S. at the University of Utah with a degree in Nursing.  She met Mack Susumu Hirai in 1959, and they would get married in August of 1962. They would go on to have three children.

As a nurse she served in several capacities; public health nurse, home health nurse, school nurse, floor nurse, among other things. During her time as a nurse she had passion that few others possessed, which helped sustain her career for 54 years until her retirement in the spring of 2016.

As the mother of a disabled child, Alice was very involved in the disabled community. She and Mack were instrumental in creating programs for challenged youth across the state; they were recognized with The Exceptional Parents of the Year Award as a result of this hard work.  In 1996, Alice married Cliff Thompson, later divorced. She found joy in educating people about Japanese-American internment camps, coming full circle when she played an internee in the movie, AMERICAN PASTIME.

Alice was very active; she enjoyed playing Taiko, caring for her cats, swimming in water aerobics (affectionately known as the ‘Mermaid Girls’). Most of her time was spent with family, especially her grandkids, which she spoiled to no end. She is preceded in death by her husband, Mack and her parents. She is survived by her siblings, Warren (Lucia) Sekino, Irene Linnett nee Sekino, and Dave (Erin) Sekino; her children, Stan (Tami) Hirai, Marlane Hirai, and Alicia (Brian) Yamada nee Hirai; her grandchildren, Kenzie, Alex, Jaxon, and Dylan; and her longtime partner, Simon Hernandez.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, December 30, 2016 at 11 a.m. at the Ogden Buddhist Church, 155 North St.  Friends may visit with family on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. at the church.  Interment, West Weber Cemetery at a later date.  Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary.