Elaine Mitsue Tamura Salvatore, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, was born in Kaunakakai, Molokai on March 12, 1924. Her Japanese ancestry goes back to Hiroshima Japan where her father was born in 1888, and Fukuoka, Japan where her mother’s family came from. Through an arranged marriage, her mother, Masae Kuga, was born in Hamakua, Hawaii married her father, Sukeichi Tamura, in Lahaina, Maui in 1922.
Her father, Sukeichi, came to Hawaii from Japan to work the fields and ended up working at Molokai Ranch. They started their family and Elaine was the third child born in a family of seven including Albert Kazuo (deceased), Florence Harue Kaneshiro (deceased), Violet Yukie Mitsunaga (deceased), George Hideo Tamura (deceased), Catherine Taeko Okamoto, and Robert Susumu Tamura. The family started and ran a general store on main street, Kaunakakai, Molokai which was called the Tamura Store. This helped to support the family and sold candy, ice cream, seeds, hamburgers, and other items. They also ran a concession stand for the Molokai outdoor movie theater.
Upon graduation from High School, Elaine worked for the Founding College of the University of Hawaii, the College of Tropical Agricultural and Human Resources, Molokai Extension Services where she worked with youths as part of the 4-H Club. In her early twenties, she went to Oahu to attend the Margaret Dietz Commercial School in Honolulu, living with a family and paying for room and board as a nanny. She also attended the Cannon School of Business, formerly the Honolulu Business College.
Elaine was still living in Honolulu when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, and remembers being very scared but was safe and taken care of by the family she lived with. It took several weeks before she could return back to Molokai and her family wasn’t able to communicate with her because of the black outs. The Tamura store helped to support the family during World War II, when it was frequented by many of the army generals and soldiers. Elaine remembers attending USO dances and she remained on the island of Molokai during the war, living in the family house; her family escaping internment faced by many of the Japanese families living in Hawaii at the time.
After war ended, Elaine left Hawaii to travel thru the mainland with her friends. She went to New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other big cities. She stopped in Cleveland to visit her sister Florence, who was living there after her marriage to Steve Kaneshiro. Here in Cleveland, fate changed her life as she met Michele Nicholas Salvatore at a local YMCA dance. They fell in love over tennis games, golf outings, archery lessons, and more dancing. Elaine and Michele were married on June 7, 1954, one year after his honorable discharge from service in 1953. During this period, Elaine worked in parts fulfillment in the General Electric Small Appliances Division.
Elaine and Michele had their first child, Clifford in October of 1955, while living in Maple Heights, Ohio. Soon after, Donna was born in 1957, and then Karen in 1962. Elaine was a mother and homemaker during this time, but soon went back to work, this time for the South Euclid Lyndhurst Public School System, for the principal of Lowden Elementary School. The family did a number of camping and cross country driving trips over the years. During cold winter days in Cleveland, Elaine would reminisce of her earlier life in the islands and would play the ukulele and sing Hawaiian songs to her family. She would often be asked to perform the Hulu and Polynesian dances to schools and other audiences. She also took piano lessons along with her children during this time. She also fell in love with Sheba, a beautiful black lab and became its primary caretaker. Elaine loved bowling and was a great bridge player.
Cliff married Tammy Lang in 1983, and soon after Elaine was blessed with three beautiful grandchildren, Brian, Jamie Lynn, and Britany. Karen married Cliff Hew in 2002, and Elaine and Michele had one more grandson, Ryan. Elaine and Mike celebrated their 50th anniversary in Cleveland on June 7, 1954 where they showed their skills in line dancing. They continued to dance thru their lives and they were the last people off the dance floor at her nephew’s wedding when she was 70.
Elaine and Michele travelled every year her children on family vacations and had many beautiful trips back to the Oahu, Maui and Molokai and to Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Smokey Mountains and St. Pete’s Beach. They went with her daughter, Donna, and went on a number of international trips including London, Rome, the Almalfi Coast, Pompeii, Naples, Ireland, Anguilla, Trinidad Tobago, and Punta Cana Dominican Republic. She travelled all the way to the age of 88. When she could no longer travel she enjoyed visits from her daughters and grandchildren. She was loved every minute of the day and night by her caring and thoughtful husband, Michele.
Elaine loved life. She lived life to the fullest…and she was kind to everyone. She will never be forgotten. Her memories will live with us forever. God Bless you Elaine!