Eiko Hino Lawrence

Eiko Hino was born on April 3, 1931 in Miyazaki City, Japan to Narakichi Hino and Toshiko Ikewaki Hino. She attended elementary school in Miyazaki City and Fukuoka Japan. She graduated from high school in Miyazaki City during WW2 and attended accounting school in Fukuoka, Japan. Post war, it was while working as an accountant, she met Jesse Lawrence, a soldier in the U.S. Army who was stationed in Fukuoka. After a brief courtship, they were married at the U.S. Consulate on December 18, 1952.

Jesse and Eiko settled in his hometown of Buffalo, New York in January of 1954. A daughter Regina was born in May 1955, followed by two more daughters Rhonda in 1957 and Teresa in 1963. Jesse and Eiko raised their children in Buffalo and were parishioners at Otterbein and later Metropolitan UMC. In 2004, Eiko was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church and joined Mother of Divine Grace in Cheektowaga New York. After her husband Jesse’s death in 2015, Eiko and her daughter Teresa relocated to Anaheim, California to live with her daughter and son-in-law. After moving to Victorville, California in 2022 the family suffered a series of serious medical events that required they remain housebound for an extended time. They reached out to St. Joan of Arc Church, where Eucharistic Ministers Ryan and Shirley Kuske began visiting the family and bringing them Holy Communion on a regular basis.

Eiko was a gifted artist who enjoyed painting, gardening, and cooking for her family and friends. Eiko transitioned from this life to the next on December 9, 2024 after a brief, but valiant struggle with pneumonia. Eiko is survived by her three daughters, a son-in-law Gustavo Hernandez, a beloved brother-in-law Edward Lawrence Sr., a beloved sister-in-law Nellie Crews and a host of devoted nieces, nephews, and friends.