FIRST OF 6 PARTS

When Jean Ogata of Hawaii Kai saw the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s nomination request for the annual Heroes Next Door series, she immediately thought of her own neighbors.

Ogata, 83, has an independent spirit, even though she is hearing-impaired, has limited mobility and is unable to stand for long periods of time. She credits her neighbors for helping her maintain independence and quality of life.

"To raise a child, it takes a village," Ogata told the Star-Advertiser. "To keep a senior going, you need these angels."

By angels, Ogata is referring specifically to next-door neighbor Clemente Lagundimao, and across-the-street neighbors Elaine Lang and Francis Hirata.

She’s also thankful for Ed Kohara, from the care ministry at her church, Hawaii Kai United Church of Christ, who takes her to doctors’ appointments and the pharmacy. He also picks her up on some Sundays to go to church.

Her caregiver, Jill Murayama from Castle Assisted Care, comes three times a week to help with housework, cooking and shopping.

These individuals, she said, are all part of the team that allow her to continue living independently in her home of more than 40 years with her pet dog, Coco.

Now retired, Lagundimao, Lang and Hirata are all original homeowners who have been Ogata’s neighbors for more than four decades. Their kids, who have since grown up and moved away, spent their childhoods playing with one another.

"It works really well," said Murayama, who has also gotten to know the neighbors in the past two years. "Everybody’s in sync. They’re wonderful neighbors, and I’m really thankful for that."

On days when Murayama is not there, or when she cannot make it, she knows the neighbors are pitching in.

Ogata’s husband of 60 years, George, now lives in a nursing home in Honolulu, but neighbors were there to help when they needed it.

Over the past two years, George, now 88, suffered several falls. Sometimes he would fall while weeding in the garden out front, and Lang from across the street was always there to help him up.

Lang says it was easy for her to keep an eye out for George Ogata from her kitchen window.

Another time, when he fell down in the bathroom late one night, Jean Ogata called Hirata and Lagundimao for help, and they came without hesitation.

Ogata says Hirata helps her roll her trash and recycling bins out to the curb and back, when needed. She’s grateful for the help because she has fallen while trying to do so.

He was also the one who asked their mail carrier, Keala Boyne, if she could deliver letters to the front door for Ogata. Boyne does just that.

Lagundimao, a retired art professor from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, helps take care of the weeds near Ogata’s fence line.

Sitting in Ogata’s kitchen, the neighbors laugh and joke with an easy familiarity.

Neighbors are like a second family, said Hirata, who remembers their kids walking to and from school together. Now they all have grandchildren.

"You know, it’s upbringing," said Hirata, who retired from the state Department of Transportation. "There was a time when people would care for each other. That’s how we grew up."

Helping a neighbor is only natural, Lagundimao said. "If Francis is not around, she calls me."

Kohara said his own experience caring for his late mother as she was aging inspired him to get involved with the church’s care ministry, which helps anyone in the community with a need.

Ogata, who once headed up the area’s Neighborhood Watch, is a persuasive force, even with limited hearing. She is still mentally sharp, technologically adept with a Samsung smartphone and very social. She reads the newspaper every day.

"There is so much aloha where I live," Ogata said, "and I want these people to know that I love and appreciate them."