Quick Facts
Biography
Sam Koyei Shimabukuro (June 7, 1925 – October 8, 2015) was one of only two Japanese Americans to have been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1991 to 1996.
Biography
Shimabukuro was born in Waipahu, Hawaii. His parents were migrant laborers from Okinawa. He was baptized a member of the LDS Church in February 1942. He later served a three-year mission to Japan, spending half of his time on Okinawa.
While on his mission, Shimabukuro met Amy Michiko Hirose. After his mission he returned to Okinawa and they courted and eventually married. The marriage occurred in October 1957 in the Laie Hawaii Temple. Their only child, Phyllis, died of lupus in 1974.
Shimabukuro served for two and a half years in the United States military. He received a degree in public administration from the University of Hawaii. He then worked for many years in the Hawaii Department of Labour.
In the LDS Church, Shimabukuro served as a bishop and was president of the Japan Sendai Mission from 1981 to 1984. From 1985 to 1988 he was the president of the church's Tokyo Japan Temple. From 1988 to 1991, he was the president of the Honolulu Hawaii West Stake.
Shimabukuro became a general authority in 1991, joining the church's Second Quorum of the Seventy. For part of this time, he was a member of the church's Asia North Area presidency. He was released as a general authority and a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy in 1996.
Shimabukuro died in Honolulu on October 8, 2015.