Daniel Kazuo Hiranaka

Daniel Hiranaka, 90, of Kent Washington passed away on May 30, 2021, surrounded by his immediate family.

  He was born on August 13, 1930 in Kent, Washington to Heisaku Hiranaka and Takeyo (Shirosaki) Hiranaka.  Dan was the youngest of nine children, and grew up in the Kent valley on the family farm.  He lived most of his life in Kent, but was sent to an internment camp during World War 2. Dan graduated from Kent High school where he played basketball and boxed in a smoker. He served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict repairing radar equipment.  He was able to attend the University of Washington on the GI Bill where he graduated with a  Bachelors of Science in electrical engineering.  Shortly after graduating, Dan started working at Boeing in flight test as an engineer.  He retired from Boeing in 1992 after working there for 32 years. 

At the U of W, he met and married his future wife, Grace (Fukasawa).  They wed in 1960 and recently celebrated 61 years of marriage. 

After retiring, he and Grace worked concessions and ushered for the Sonics, the Seahawks and Mariners.  They were able to enjoy many adventures, traveling to such places as England, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Peru and Bolivia as well as a few family trips crossing the United States.

Dan loved listening to music, especially jazz.  He started skiing as an adult, immediately loved it, and continued skiing well into his 80s.  Gardening was another hobby Dan enjoyed.  After he retired, he took it to another level by traveling as far as Portland, Or for a special breed of clematis or studying catalogs to get the exact times to plant his fruits and vegetables.

Dan was known for his love of sports with baseball being his favorite. He passed his love of the sport to his grandson, who went on to play baseball in college.  Dan played in a softball league for many years with his wife  and continued to assist coaching his team after retiring from actively playing himself.  Dan loved the Mariners, and followed them avidly.

He is survived by his sister Betty, his wife Grace, their sons David (Donna), Douglas, Garth (Michelle) and daughter Leslie (Darryl) Martin and six grandchildren.

Dan’s memorial service will be on Saturday, June 12 at 11am at Edline-Yahn & Covington Funeral Chapel, 27221 156th Ave SE, Kent, WA 98042.

The family asks that people make donations to support the Auburn Food Bank, in lieu of sending flowers.

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