Obituary of Kyle Kazuo Eric Shiotani

Our Little Angel on Earth Kyle Kazuo Eric Shiotani, 9, passed away on Feb. 2, 2009. Kyle will be dearly missed by his family, dad Dwight, mom Shirley, and big brother Shaun. Kyle's family extends to grandparents Francis & Edith Shiotani of Okinawa, Japan and Jack Russell of Hilo, Hawaii. Kyle leaves behind many loving uncles, aunties, cousins, and friends. Kyle was born in Littleton, Colorado. He came into the world quietly, not crying, but with deeply inquisitive and observant eyes. He lived his life in a similar manner; quiet but not withdrawn, shy but polite, observant and considerate of others. His grandmother called him her "Little Guy", a name the rest of us adopted. In 2000, his family relocated to Tacoma, Washington, where he celebrated the rest of his short and wonderful life. Kyle was in the 4th grade at Visitation Catholic School in Tacoma, where he had been a student since 1st grade. He was a good student and was well-loved by everyone in the school. He was the 4th grade student council representative. Kyle recently took 1st place in the VFW Youth Essay Contest. Kyle was active in many sports. He played basketball and ran cross-country at Visitation Catholic School. He trained in Judo for nearly half his life at Bushikan Dojo. He was a tough competitor who won numerous tournaments. He just finished his first season as a wrestler with the UP Jr. Vikings Wrestling club. He and his friends played football in the schoolyard at recess every chance they got. Although he was small in stature, Kyle was big in heart and played everything with 100% effort. Kyle was a dedicated scout and started as a Tiger cub scout in Den 3 of Tacoma Pack 10. He worked his way up to first year Webelos scout. He wore his uniform with so much pride. He loved all the scouting activities like pinewood and rocket derbies, field trips, and camping. But he also liked working on food drives, serving pancake breakfasts, and helping with activities to benefit others. Kyle loved the outdoors. He loved to camp, fish, and ride his bike. He loved to explore the Washington state beaches, turning rocks over to catch crabs and digging for geoducks. He and his family took many bicycle rides, walks, and hikes together. He liked to go out in the woods and shoot BB guns and shoot it out in airsoft wars. Kyle also loved sledding and playing in the snow. Whenever snow conditions arrived, he and Shaun would perform snow dances in the hopes that it would snow really hard and school would be closed. He also loved the warm waters of Hawaii and spent many hours swimming, fishing, and crayfish hunting there each summer. Kyle loved to play video games, especially Halo and Runescape. He had to earn playing time and he diligently performed his chores, homework, and other tasks in order to earn as much gaming time as possible. He easily beat the rest of his family in most video games, often giving them big handicaps to make it interesting. Kyle also loved board games like Monopoly and Risk. He'd gather the family together to play Monopoly in front of the fireplace on those cold, snowed-in days. Although Kyle was born in Colorado and grew up in Washington, he had deep roots in Hawaii as both of his parents are from the Islands. He and Shaun stayed at their Grandpa Tommy's or Uncle Gary and Auntie Laurie's house nearly every summer. They once stayed 5 weeks and didn't miss their Mom or Dad a bit. They were like little brothers to their cousins in Hawaii. They will miss him dearly. Kyle was a good helper. Although he wasn't great at keeping his room clean, he liked to help around the house with cooking, yard work, and other chores. He liked to learn new things. His mother was going to hire him as a paper filer and shredder for her accounting business. Kyle was always willing to help other people as well. Kyle loved animals. He loved to feed the animals on his grandpa's farm in Hawaii and always reminded his grandpa to wake him up early so he could help. Kyle loved to play with our dog Minnie. Any dog that approached Kyle received a pet from him. Kyle was a practical joker with a zany sense of humor. He played many pranks on Shaun and their laughter filled our house with joy. Like everything he did, he filled people around him with laughter and joy. Kyle would have turned 10 on Feb. 7, 2009. During his nearly 10 years on earth, Kyle gave out more love, joy & positive energy than most people do in a lifetime. His mother, father, and brother and all of his family and friends love him dearly and will miss him forever. Kyle's memorial service will be held on Monday, Feb 9, 2009 at Visitation Catholic Church, 3314 S 58th St., Tacoma, WA. Viewing will begin at 4:30pm. The service will begin at 6pm. A reception in the upper hall will follow. If desired memorial contributions may be made to Visitation Catholic School or Pack 10, Cub Scouts of Visitation Catholic Church. Arrangements by Piper-Morley-Mellinger Funeral Home. 253-472-3353