Obituary of Hiroko Shimada Burns

My mother, Hiroko Shimada Burns, was born on January 27, 1947 and passed away on December 13, 2020 at her home, peacefully in her sleep, with me, her daughter by her side, after a short, but fierce battle with gastric cancer at the age of 73. My mother is survived by her only child, myself, Cincere Leaa’ Burns, and will also be dearly missed by those who knew and loved her. My mother was born and raised in Fukuoka, Japan and came to the United States in 1972, after meeting my father who was in the Airforce and stationed in Fukuoka. They married in Rockford Illinois in 1972, at the home of my Grandparents. My mother gave birth to me in April of 1973, and my parents would later divorce in 1981. My mother loved the United States and later in life did become a US Citizen, which she was immensely proud of. When I was a young girl, my mother held multiple jobs, to make ends meet. Her first “real” job was at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, where she remained for several years. She then went to work at MinnComm Paging for a brief time, which was a company that sold and rented pagers. Then my mother found the career that she would retire from. In the early 90’s, my mother was hired to work at Kintetsu World Express, which is a Japanese company that specializes in importing and exporting cargo and merchandise overseas. My mother loved the work that she did very much, and she was incredibly dedicated to working hard and moving up. She ended up moving remarkably high up and became a Branch Manager for Kintetsu World Express. My mother was the first Japanese woman to have held such a position at the time. She always talked about how much she enjoyed the work that she did. My mother worked hard, she knew that she was good at what she did, and she often spoke of the many kind people she met during her years spent here. Yes, she was great when it came to her career, but the thing she was the best at was being my mom! My mom was a funny, strong, kind, caring, supportive and loving mother. She modeled for me how to be strong, honest, and be kind to others. She is the one who taught me the importance of working hard so that I will always be able to make a path for myself in the present and in the future. Most importantly, my mother taught me the importance of being a good person. My mom always believed that when you do good in the world, those good things will come back to you. I believe this as well and witnessed many wonderful things that have happened to my mom over the years! Mom, I love you so much, and I miss you every minute of every day. I miss talking to you, seeing your beautiful smile, sending you our daily Instagram pictures, and texting you. I miss everything about you. I know your spirit is with me and that you will continue to watch over me and guide me, as I start a new life without you physically in it. I know you are at peace now and that the pain is gone, Rest in Peace, mom. My mother did not want a formal funeral of any kind. However, I will be having a small gathering for those who knew and loved my mother, once we are all able to gather safely.