James Higa Obituary

Higa, James Z. passed away peacefully April 17, 2010. He was 86. James was born in Pepeekeo, HI. He served in Army Intelligence during WWII. After the war, James attended the Institute of Design at IIT. He worked at Container Corporation as a graphic designer where he designed the General Mills "G" and the corporate logo for Washington Apple among others. His lifelong passion was paper sculpture, and he was the inventor of "Krimpart." After resigning from Container Corporation, James had a long career as a freelance graphic designer. During his career, he illustrated and designed books for Scott Foresman and was a member of the 27 Designers. He was a frequent contributor to Playboy Magazine where he designed and sculpted an entire room of furniture out of newspaper for an article entitled, "What to do with the Sunday New York Times." In 1973, he appeared as a guest on the television show, "What's My Line." James continued to be curious and creative until the end of his life. He is survived by his wife, Joan (nee Fukui) Higa, daughter, Tracy (Patrick) Burns, son, Jonathan (Grace) Higa, and grandchildren, Teddy, Koko, and Marika. A celebration of James' life will be held May 25th at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe, IL. For information, please call 847-615-9022. Internment will be in Honolulu, HI. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in James' name to the Chicago Botanic Garden.