Wilfred “Willie” Seiichi Higa

Wilfred “Willie” Seiichi Higa

July 6, 1945 – October 14, 2024

Wilfred “Willie” Seiichi Higa of Omaha, Nebraska passed away on October 14, 2024, at the young age of 79.

Willie graduated from Farrington High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, birthplace of the Aloha spirit and where he affectionately developed his love for the Hawaiian plate lunch, Zippy’s saimin noodles, and Okinawan karate. When he wasn’t attending Japanese language classes after school or earning badges for Boy Scouts, you would find Willie tending to his newspaper route or working at the Dole Cannery picking and sorting the best pineapples on the island.

Willie’s father Richard was a master welder who, after witnessing the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was recruited by the U.S. government to work on the atomic bomb project. Richard spent 8 years working on Enewetak Island, cycling between 9-month deployments and two weeks of leave. Willie and his mother Matsue spent many “vacations” traveling to Hong Kong and Japan to visit Richard during these temporary leaves.

Willie’s mother Matsue was an astute businesswoman who helped build the Modern Macaroni Company. Willie made his parents proud when he became the first in his family to attend college, and on the “mainland” no less. Willie attended Emporia State University in Kansas, where he received a Bachelor of Business degree, a master’s degree in business administration, and a serendipitous refuge at the welcoming home of his witty and unconventional statistics professor, Dr. Ray Heath. Ray’s home was not only the gathering place for the university’s tight-knit community of international students – including Kama’aina Hawaiians – but also where Ray’s niece Linda lived while attending Emporia’s Teacher’s College. Willie met Linda at one of Ray’s famous potlucks, where Willie showed up with a Hawaiian mac salad and a rare gift of doting kindness that would remain the indelible hallmark of his character.

On August 16, 1970, Linda and Willie were married in the small town of Battle Creek, Iowa, in the same church that Linda’s father helped construct. After graduating, they packed up Willie’s cherry red Mach 1 Mustang and headed to Topeka, Kansas, where Willie was a supervisor for the Frito Lay Company. Wanting to be closer to Linda’s parents, Linda and Willie moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 1974, where he managed Oak Hills Country Club. This role was a great mix of his love for organization, cooking, and always providing great hospitality. After the birth of daughters Beth and Amy, Willie traded his second-shift schedule for a two-hour daily commute to join Square D in Lincoln, Nebraska. He retired after almost 30 years of service at Square D – never once calling out sick – and working thousands of overtime hours working to help pay for Beth and Amy’s college expenses.

In 2005, Willie and Linda joined Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church after their daughter Amy was married there. You would often find him in the kitchen volunteering on Sundays to serve breakfasts. Pancakes and pastries were his specialty.

Willie had many hobbies in his retirement and a packed social calendar that would be the envy of those 25 years younger. He discovered he had a knack for golf. He enjoyed being out on the green almost as much as he loved stopping for lunch afterwards at the local Chinese buffet or at Jimmy’s Egg with his golfing buddies Bob and Marv.  In 2016, Willie became Omaha-World-Hearld famous when the paper reported the hole-in-one he hit with his 8-iron club at La Vista Falls. Luck found its way back to Willie again in 2018, when he hit his second hole-in-one at Elmwood golf course with the same 8-iron, as witnessed by his years-long tee-time partner and good friend, Marv Crawford.

Willie had a passion for music, surely inherited from his father, who danced and mused to classical Okinawan songs. As a kid, Willie played trumpet in band and also taught himself how to play the organ – later taking lessons and performing with his “playing for friends” music social group. He loved performing at local senior centers and playing favorite songs for his age 80-and-above fans.

Willie also loved to travel. He and Linda spent their retirement visiting friends in Germany and ticking-off bucket list destinations, including Prague, Paris, Normandy, Budapest, Santorini, and more. He joined his fellow Nebraskan snowbirds every winter in Arizona to gather for golf outings and card games. He also spent many years making the trek back and forth to Chicago and later to Washington D.C. to visit their eldest daughter and her family.

Despite being a child of island time, Willie was never late and showed up both in big ways and small. Having a highly desirable blood type, he regularly donated blood and proudly drank his morning coffee from his American Red Cross “10-gallon donor” mug. To the surprise of many, Willie also loved the snow. After the first snowfall, he would wake up early before the snowplows arrived to shovel not just his driveway but the driveways and sidewalks of neighbors in his cul-de-sac.

Willie was never one to ask for help but always the first to give it, with his gifts of love and hospitality and through his humble acts of kindness. There was never a dish that was left dirty in the sink. No empty water glasses on the countertops. And when cancer found its way to Linda in 2019, Willie completely rewrote the script on caretaking, setting new standards for compassion and grace. Never one to complain, Willie embraced every role possible — nurse, chef, grocery shopper, courier, and fellow movie watcher.

Among the many roles Willie played throughout his life, his most proud and treasured role was that of “Papi” – doting grandfather to four amazing grandchildren. He always highlighted their accomplishments and creative talents. He was happiest when showing them something new, from teaching them how to make fried rice and egg rolls, to demonstrating old school karate moves. His spirit will always shine brightest through them.

Willie is survived by his wife and life-long dancing partner of 54 years, Linda. He is also survived by daughters Beth (Chris) Roberts, Amy (Adam) Studts; sister Sarah Kaneshiro; brother-in-law Tom (Penny) Schau, niece Sarah Schau, nephews Nick Schau, Vance Kaneshiro, Previn Kaneshiro, Kevin Oshiro; grandchildren Sophia Corin Studts, Harlow Lei Studts, Nathan Higa Roberts, and Willa Higa Roberts; and so many friends from Stoneybrook, Chimney Ridge, golf, dance, and music groups, and his regular YMCA water aerobics classes.

He is preceded in death by his parents Richard Seiki Higa and Matsue China Higa, sister Jeannie (Stanley) Oshiro; and nephew Curtis Kaneshiro.

A tremendous and heartfelt thanks go to the friends and family who made Willie’s life extraordinary.

The celebration of Willie’s life will be on Monday October 21^st, 11AM at West Center Chapel with visitation at 10AM and a luncheon following the service in the West Center Chapel Community Room.

Interment: Evergreen Cemetery after the luncheon which everyone is welcome.

In celebration of Willie, please consider donating in Willie’s memory to the Assistance Leage of Omaha, the American Red Cross, the Maui Strong Fund, or to your favorite charity.

We love you, Papi. Until we meet again. Aloha, a hui hou.

Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler, West Center Chapel, 7805 West Center Road, Omaha, Ne 68124. (402)-391-3900. www.heafeyheafey.com