Tamiko Fujio, a retired Hilo schoolteacher who maintained a busy schedule and continued to drive at age 92, was fatally injured Monday when a car hit her outside a Hilo senior center.
"She had a million hobbies — gardening, sewing, (oil) painting," to name a few, said daughter-in-law Mary Fujio, who added that she also had a master’s degree in art. "She had gone there because she was working on quilts."
Fujio, who would have turned 93 next month, was walking to her car at the Kamana Senior Center at 127 Kamana St. when she was struck by a Toyota sedan driven by a 59-year-old Hilo woman.
Police said the driver was reversing from a lawn area onto a paved driveway. The accident was reported at 8:48 a.m.
Police said fire rescue personnel transported Fujio to Hilo Medical Center, where she died at 11:30 a.m.
The driver was not injured. Police opened a negligent-homicide case — standard in vehicular deaths — and ordered an autopsy.
"She was physically in good shape," Mary Fujio said of her mother-in-law. "Her only problem would be she was hard of hearing."
Tamiko Fujio was born in Hiroshima, Japan. She moved to Hawaii, married and was raising two young children when her husband died, leaving her alone to support their children when she was in her 30s.
Fujio went back to school, earning a teaching degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She returned to Hilo and taught elementary school.
"I thought that was pretty amazing," said Mary Fujio, who described her mother-in-law as "strong, capable and intelligent" throughout her life.
Despite her hair turning white, her former students still recognized her.
"If they came across her, they’d say, ‘Hey, I remember you, Mrs. Fujio,’" Mary Fujio said.
She said her mother-in-law looked 10 years younger than her years and had nice skin.
"She had an active social life," she said. "She was a member of the orchid society. For an older woman, she got out a lot. She never lost her zest for life."
She was independent, driving as long as she could pass the driver’s exam, Fujio said.
"We’re just glad that she didn’t have to suffer long," Fujio said.
As for the driver, "we hope she’s all right," Fujio said. "She’s probably feeling pretty bad. Obviously this was an accident and not a reckless driver. We feel bad for this lady, knowing she’s going to be haunted the rest of her life."
Fujio is survived by son Carl and daughter Harriet Enrique.
