Fay Matsue Tamashiro

Fay Matsue Tamashiro ended her five-year struggle with cancer Monday, September 2, 2024 much as she lived her life, passing quietly with composure, courage and grace. She was born on September 16, 1951 in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii to Natsuko (Kaneshiro) and Shigeru Tamashiro, daughter and son of first generation immigrants from Okinawa, Japan. From them she inherited the strong will to live a life of dignity, integrity and devotion to family and country. 

Shortly after Fay was born Shigeru and Natsuko took civil service positions with the Department of Defense, moving the family to a military base in US Occupied Okinawa where she lived growing up. The Tamashiro’s were part of a sizeable community of American citizens of Okinawan and Japanese descent who remained in contact over the years. Fay grew up attending schools run by the US DoD and graduated from Kubasaki High School 1969. Her classmates characterized her as smart, cute, quiet and shy. In 1973, she earned her bachelor of arts degree in community services from the University of Oregon. She then moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she lived with her brother Reynold and worked briefly for the Job Corps. 

 In 1974 Fay and Reynold were hired by Sandia Laboratories where she became one of Sandia's first female security guards and a crack shot with a pistol. During her 27-year career with Sandia she was trained and worked as a technician in photometrics, then chemistry, and finally as a computer programmer. During this period she took up Kojosho Karate. 

 In 1982 Fay married James Paul Hickerson Jr, a Sandia engineer, who remained devoted to and captivated by her for the rest of her life. Memorable pronouncement: "James, you have very good ideas,........but not always the best ideas. This is one of those situations." The two settled permanently in Cedar Crest on three forested acres in the foothills of the Sandias. There she developed interests and skills in arts and crafts including jewelry making, beading, photo restoration, video creation, and snow shoveling. She became the source of gifts and creations for friends and family and the organizations she joined. She was "Baba" to her step children and grandchildren and loving mistress of rescued dogs, large and small. After retirement she returned to the practice of Kojosho Karate rising to the level of Second Degree Black Belt. She followed that by becoming proficient in "Pound" aerobic exercise fitness achieving a Pound Pro rating. She gained recognition within the worldwide Pound community for her testimonials and videos describing the emotional and character-building support it and its members had given her as she struggled with cancer.  

She is survived by her husband, James of Cedar Crest; her brothers Reynold and Chester Tamashiro of Las Vegas, NV and Kailua, Oahu, HI respectively; her sister Stella Tamashiro (Speed) of Kailua, Oahu, HI; step children David Hickerson of Parker, CO; and Angela (Hickerson) Billings of Colorado Springs, CO. Grandchildren include Kelsey (Hickerson) Currier of New York, NY; Christopher Billings of Norman, OK; and Nicholas Billings of Mesa, AZ. 

A celebration of the life of Fay Tamashiro will take place on Saturday, November 2, 2024 from 2:00pm-5:00 pm at the Albuquerque Garden Center, 10120 Lomas Blvd NE. Memorial services will be held in Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii, the date to be announced later. Charitable donations in her name can be made to EnchantMutts (enchantmutts.org), a not-for-profit Australian Shepherd rescue organization in Albuquerque.