Kathleen Y. Thomas

She graduated from James B. Castle High School in Kaneohe in June 1965. She attended Kapiolani Community College where she was learning to be a pastry chef, but her education was disrupted by her first child, Lee Mastumoto in November 1966. Her second son, Conrad Hise was born in July 1980. Kitty was a doting mother and grandmother and perhapsa little too much of a helicopter parent at times, but she genuinely cared. She cherished the visits from her nephews who came to visit from the mainland. They affectionately called her Aunty Meow and always looked forward to enjoying her delicious spam musubi together.

She worked at Deluxe bakery making cakes and pies before moving on to work as a dental assistant for a local Kaneohe dentist. Later, she became a back-office administrator for an auto repair shop. She also worked at Allstate Insurance as a claims adjuster and at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as a banquet server.

She met the love of her life, Robert (Bob) Thomas at a Parents Without Partners meeting and they were married on June 9, 2009. They volunteered with the Shriners organization and she and Bob traveled to many places around the world. Kitty became Bob’s caregiver after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and she cared for him until his passing in December, 2017.

Kitty had a feisty yet magnetic personality and made many friends throughout her life. She loved to watch cooking shows and enjoyed preparing meals for her friends, especially her famous laulau. Her love of cooking was passed on to her son Conrad. She also enjoyed watching “Ghost Hunters” and said her house was haunted, often saying she would return to live there. We will be looking for you Kitty. What you probably did not know is that she was an avid online shopper and kept the delivery drivers fully employed – evident by the items stored in her house.

Before her sudden illness this year, she traveled to Houston, Alexandria, Boston, Rockport, New York, Old Orchard Beach, and Portland with her newfound family, Chuck and Carolyn Dempster. She spoke excitedly about the foods she ate, especially the clam chowder in Boston, the lobsters in Rockport and all the desserts. She loved dining out with their daughter Zoe and enjoyed seeing Ava (Chuck and Carolyn’s daughters) perform with her ballet company in Houston.

She was looking forward to attending her nephew Kevin’s wedding at the end of September, but she was there in spirit, watching over the newlyweds.

She is survived by her daughter-in-law, Donna Matsumoto, granddaughter Sabinne Matsumoto, sister, Jo-Ann Lung (David Schwartz), her brothers James Yap and Thomas Yap and nephews Kevin Lung and Brian Schwartz. Kitty was preceded in death by her husband, Robert J. Thomas, her sons, Conrad Hise and Lee Matsumoto and her parents, Joseph, and Margaret Yap.

Kitty will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her. May her soul rest in peace.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Shriners Children’s Hawaii.

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