By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – When Alicia Wolfe read in the news last Saturday Manabu Ishikawa was going to be buried with two strangers, as one of three unclaimed individuals from the county coroner’s office, she felt compelled to visit his grave in Chehalis.
The Winlock woman didn’t know him, but had met him briefly before he died this summer.
When she checked Ishikawa in at a Centralia motel in June, she thought his name sounded Japanese and asked about it, she said.
“He said he was first generation American,” Wolfe said. “I said oh, my husband’s mother is also.”
Manabu Ishikawa 1964 – 2013
He smiled at her comment, went to his room and she never talked to him again, she said.
The ceremony on Saturday morning at Pioneer Cemetery along Jackson Highway in Chehalis was organized by the Lewis County Coroner’s Office. The final resting place for three sets of unclaimed cremated remains was gifted by cemetery owners John and Marie Panesko.
Wolfe was really disappointed she didn’t learn about it sooner, so she could attend, she said.
“I’m not sure why a stranger passing away has hit me so hard,” she said.
The 28-year-old woman said she’s worked in the industry most of her adult life and it’s not the first time she’s experienced the death at work of a guest; she’s accepted it as part of her job, she said.
But Ishikawa is someone she’s thought about more than usual. She couldn’t get it out of her mind over the weekend that his family obviously didn’t know where he was, where he was laid to rest.
Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said all he knew was Ishikawa was 49 years old and a transient person from Grass Valley, California. He said he tried and simply could not locate any relatives.
The remembrance with a chaplain offering prayers on Saturday took place alongside the lawned property inhabited with the remains of more than 300 individuals. It’s historically been a place for those no one else wanted, such as some in unmarked graves who died at the local tuberculosis sanatorium and even a local criminal who met his end through vigilante justice, the nine attendees were told, according to McLeod.
Meanwhile, Wolfe began searching and found a Facebook page for the stranger. One of his friends had posted last month they knew he died, but were trying to account for his whereabouts, she said.
“From what I could gather, they searched social security death records, and learned he had died June 5, but didn’t have any more details,” she said.
Wolfe messaged one of his friends, offering her condolences and explaining Ishikawa’s remains were in Lewis County and he’d been buried, but she would bring him flowers And she didn’t hear back.
Early this week, Wolfe took a bouquet to the hillside graveyard.
So when she ran into John Panesko to ask him to show her the plot, she was somewhat happy to learn the actual burial was rescheduled for yesterday. It was her day off work, so she could be there, she thought.
She messaged Ishikawa’s friend again, to share the news he hadn’t been buried yet, she said.
Finally, on Wednesday, she heard back.
“She said, you’re kidding me, his family loves him very much,” Wolfe said. “They thought he was in Portland or California. You have to go there and tell them not to bury him.”
She did.
Panesko has gotten a phone call from Ishikawa’s sister and an email from his mother in Japan. Ishikawa’s urn has been returned to coroner’s office where it waits to be reunited with his family.
Wolfe spoke to his mother yesterday.
“She called me and told me a little bit about Manabu,” she said.
Wolfe learned he went to music school in California in the 1980s.
“I guess he was like a free spirit, he did what he wanted,” she said. “He traveled around, did as he pleased. He played the clarinet.”
Even though she didn’t actually know, his mother felt he had died, Wolfe said.
His mother told Wolfe her son had a heart condition and chose against medical advice about four years ago not to seek medical intervention.
“She said he believed in God, she said, Manabu’s God is powerful,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe still doesn’t know what he was doing in Centralia.
His mother had a final request.
“She said, I have one more question for you: ‘Manibu had a dog, Swale, and she was special to Manibu and very special to me, and I would like you to find her.”
Wolfe said she knew Centralia police took custody of Ishikawa’s dog upon his death. She made phone calls and learned Swale was taken to the Lewis County Animal Shelter and probably adopted out, she said.
Earlier today, she was waiting and hoping once the new owners were given her phone number from the shelter and information about the situation, she might be able to fulfill the mother’s request.
Tonight, she learned Swale died a few months ago.
Ishikawa’s Facebook page lists his occupation as janitor at nearest pond; he has 493 Facebook friends.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Manabu (Manny, as we all knew him) was a wonderful person. I lived down the street from him in Falls Church, VA and went to high school with him. We also went to music school together in Boston (Berklee). His young image, with his happy face and shaggy hair, is lodged in my memory. We reconnected on Facebook, but then I, as I do, fell back into the woodwork. Manny posted a message, saying ‘I miss Jimmy’. I will forever miss Manny.
Thank you so much for writing this article.
Manny and I met in 1979, and played in a band together during 1981-82, while attending JEB Stuart High School in Falls Church, VA.
We reconnected via Facebook in 2010, and had several really great phone conversations. We hoped to make music together again someday. Manny was an amazing bassist, and a great person. I miss him very much.
Manabu was my dear friend. Thank you for writing about him. 🙂
He was a really wonderful person who cared about everyone. 🙂 He often told me stories about how he would be protecting homeless women in whatever area he was in from being raped & stuff.. He cared about others way more than he cared about himself… He’d give his last dollar that he was going to use to buy himself food with, after not having eaten in a few days to someone else if he saw that they needed it more than he did.
And yes, he really loved God.. He tried to live a Godly lifestyle.. Where he loved people, no matter what.. And he really loved his dog, Swale… He was so excited to get her! He’d been wanting a dog for years & he loved dogs so much. I’m very sad to hear about her not being here anymore. I wonder what happened to her.. Whatever happened, I hope she’s up there keeping him company.
As for Manabu, he was one of a kind, for sure. He was very interested in permaculture and aquaponics & used to run a website about aquaponics that I helped him set up.. He was always learning new things and helping people learn how to grow their own food. xD
I met him back in 2007 online & he was really a kind soul. He loved fishing. xD I still remember him saying that really good, fresh sushi tastes like flowers. xD
He was a lot of fun. I miss him & I know that everybody who knows him misses him, too. There’s just not many quality people like him around anymore.
You can here Manabu’s clarinet playing here. He made this on his Tascam 4 Channel in his camper while living in Shasta. http://www.ourstage.com/tracks/VAEDXBMKTLPS-shastascape
I knew Manabu for a couple of months a couple of years ago. He had stopped in Mt. Shasta City for a spell, living in an old camper and pulling down a few bucks a night playing his clarinet. He invited some of the local homeless folk into his camper whenever they stopped by. At the time it was so very cold and snowing that he wasn’t able to make much money. I brought him some medical mj a few times and we enjoyed kicking back in his camper for a few hours talking about music and listening to him play his clarinet and old cassette tapes he had of his rock band when he was a teen ager.
I couldn’t remember his name when I thought of him a few months back. Last night I remembered his name and googled it to find this article. How Sad…
Manabu was a good soul and has touched the lives of more people than one might expect. I have often thought we would meet up again and make music together.
RIP Manabu
I’ve never met Manabu in person, we were online friends. Our lives overlapped with mutual friends, we went to the same college at different times, and walked the same footsteps years apart. Though our contact was minimal, his passion was very noticeable, what he wrote would give me pause (a rare event).
At the California College of the Arts, Manabu finished a 4 year education in 3 years. He majored in film, but true to his nature in following his muse, he spent much of his time making pottery. In addition, he also studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Both schools have a strict review process for admission and it is a rare quality to excel in both visual and performing arts to be admitted to both. He will be missed, but his spirit lives on with everyone he has interacted with.
Dear Ms. Decker,
Thank you for the article.
I am Manabu’s aunt. I saw this article as I found out about his death a few days ago. I really appreciate Alicia Wolfe that she brought us a comfort.
I am in Tokyo helping my mother who is 98 and has loved Manabu for all her life. My husband and I are planing to attend his funeral on 11/16 in San Francisco. Manabu’s sister, my niece told me that the coroner will be delivering his ashes to her.
Thank you very much!
Mr. McLeod,
I just wanted to chime in here and say that I respect you for taking responsibility for your mistake. We all make mistakes but what defines us, I think, is how we handle and learn from them. It’s not easy to admit to our missteps, especially in public forums, and I hope the readers here take that into account when forming opinions about this.
Thankfully, your oversight was remedied by a generous lady and this story does have a happy ending of sorts. There is lesson to be learned for all of us here. It’s easy to get stuck in tunnel vision.
Mr. McLeod,
Thank you for your efforts in locating Mr. Ishikawa. As some may recall, a recent burial for unclaimed remains was done for individuals after being shelved for many years. I believe this speaks to sensitivity to those individuals’ right to be recognized and properly interred. True, you did not locate the family, it was very fortunate that Ms. Wolfe touched Mr. Ishikawa’s life. I trust using social media will be a part of your future efforts.
Ms. Decker,
Thank you for a nice piece on Ms. Wolfe and the comfort she has brought to a family.
I would like to point out that the criticisms surrounding the lack of using FB in the search for family in this care are right on the mark.
Over the years there has been a reliance placed on the advanced law enforcement databases and the “simple” social media has been overlooked. I have been in contact with the family and have offered my apologies for not using the social media as a search tool and they were very gracious. As part of our ongoing training the use of FB and other social media is being discussed as just one more way we can try and locate family or even friends who may know where family is.
FB has also been kind of a taboo for us since we have handled many cases where the death has been posted on the FB page before we even get the call to respond. Our policy of notifying families is to do it in person or have another agency do it in person if out of our jurisdiction. We do not want word out on FB before we can get a hold of family. With that said searching FB pages certainly would provide us with a list of friends and sometimes family that we can then track down to notify in person.
Not using FB was definitely an error and while I will make mistakes as the coroner I can assure that the same mistakes will not be made twice.
Warren McLeod
Was the dog put down at the shelter?
Perhaps Coroner McLeod will take advantage of FB now that he sees how effective it was in this case. Not everyone lives on social media.
A good story with a happy ending… and some readers just look for fault. Congratulations Sharyn, the spirit of your website is alive and well.
Looks like Warren McLeod didn’t try hard enough to locate the family.
His music is haunting! the link is on his facebook page. RIP Manabu. You impacted the lives of many.
Very nice piece Sharyn. Alicia sounds like a woman full of heart. I don’t think the point of it was to find fault with Warrens’ fact checking.
“Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said all he knew was Ishikawa was 49 years old and a transient person from Grass Valley, California. He said he tried and simply could not locate any relatives.”
“Meanwhile, Wolfe began searching and found a Facebook page for the stranger. One of his friends had posted last month they knew he died, but were trying to account for his whereabouts, she said.”
Hey Warren, do you know about this website called facebook? It’d be nice if elected officials showed a little competency in their work instead of just half assing it and letting other people do things for them.
The Corner didn’t check Facebook? I would think he would have, police departments use it among others.
What a blessing for the family! Good work, Ms. Wolfe. 🙂