Growing up in Hawaii I had the unique opportunity to meet and grow up with several very magnetic personalities. Carlene Eiko Okimoto Mossman was one of those people. She passed away this month giving birth to her seventh child, Carly, in Salt Lake City, Utah. I remember the first day I met Carlene at Laie Elementary school in Hawaii. Her family had just moved to Laie and we became instant friends. Through the next three decades we went to dances together, laughed together, attended seminary together. We even fought over a few boys together. We both served our missions in Asia. Carlene in Japan and I in Korea. Our letters to each other came quicker than any we would receive from back home in Hawaii. We supported each other, loved each other, and became each other's strength while we were so very far away from home. Returning home from our missions we continued our schooling together, each getting married and moving on with our lives. Any time we met up again after that it was like we had never been apart. Our children, who are approximately the same ages, became instant friends and took up just like she and I always would. As if we had never been apart. As if no time had ever passed in between our visits. My children always referred to Carlene's family as their "hawaiian cousins". Whether it was in Laie, Sandy, or Woods Cross Carlene and her family were always a part of our family. We are devastated about her passing. We send our deepest sympathy to Vaughn and the children. To Bro. and Sis. Okimoto who always welcomed me into their home. And to the many, many people who's lives Carlene touched while she was here on earth.
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