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Seniors make long-distance friends




ALOHA — The Decatur Senior Citizen Center held a farewell party for Irwin and Toni Ukishima of Oahu, Hawaii, Friday. After flying from the island to help their son move to Wise County, the Ukishimas started volunteering and attending events at the center, quickly making friends.

ALOHA — The Decatur Senior Citizen Center held a farewell party for Irwin and Toni Ukishima of Oahu, Hawaii, Friday. After flying from the island to help their son move to Wise County, the Ukishimas started volunteering and attending events at the center, quickly making friends.

Toni and Irwin Ukishima were strangers to the Decatur community when they traveled from Oahu, Hawaii, to help their son settle in Wise County.

The Ukishimas didn’t stay strangers for long. After visiting around town, they were invited to hang out at the Decatur Senior Center. Through bingo, shared meals, volunteering and conversations, they found a community of friends during their stay far from home.

“We really like it [in Texas],” Toni Ukishima said. “These people are wonderful.”

It was always going to be a long-distance friendship, with a flight booked back home to Hawaii.

Still, for six weeks, the Ukishimas saw their new pals daily, becoming familiar faces at the Senior Center, which was recently revamped under its new director Anna Coker.

Before the Ukishimas’ departure, the center held a farewell party for their Hawaii-bound friends. Toni and Irwin demonstrated to the seniors how to do a Hawaiian dance Friday, while others at the center gave them tips on country-western styling.

AUSTIN JACKSON/WCMESSENGER & SUBMITTED

AUSTIN JACKSON/WCMESSENGER & SUBMITTED

“We all danced together,” Coker said.

There was a consensus at the Decatur Senior Citzen Center Friday: They need to have a reunion in Oahu soon.

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