Helen Hanako Ando

Helen Hanako Ando, age 91, passed away peacefully at home on January 30, 2026. She was born on December 31, 1934, in Syracuse, Utah, to parents Taiji and Tomeyo Shimada, and graduated from Davis High School. She moved to Los Angeles, California, around 1954 to pursue an education in nursing, she met her husband Theodore (better known as “Ted” among all their close friends and family), married, and eventually settled in Gardena to raise their family. A loving wife, mother, and grandmother, she will be greatly missed by her three children and their families: daughter Coreen, her husband Walt, and their children Shelli and Kaitlyn; son Geoff, his wife Michelle, and their children Myles and Shane; and daughter Jeri. She is finally able to be with Ted again, who passed away in March of 2017.

A simple celebration of life service will be held.  For those who will be attending to bid a final farewell and share their memories of Hanako with family and friends, please come in casual or Hawaiian attire.  A private burial, attended by just immediate family, will follow the service.