Beatrice "Bea" Kaneshiro, matriarch of a family that once owned one of Honolulu's most popular restaurants, preferred remaining in the shadow cast by the spotlight on her outgoing, gregarious late husband, Fred "Tosh" Kaneshiro of Columbia Inn fame.

Beatrice Kaneshiro's reserved demeanor never showed how demanding it must have been for her to raise three sons while working 15 to 18 hours a day, seven days at week, at the restaurant. She started there in December 1941 on North Beretania Street in Chinatown and later worked, from 1964 to 1986, at the "top of the boulevard" at 645 Kapi'olani next to The Honolulu Advertiser building.

Kaneshiro died Tuesday at Kuakini Hospital. She was 83.

"She was our boss, but she always worked with us, taking tables herself when we were busy," recalled Momi Muraoka, who was head waitress at Columbia Inn from 1965 to 1990 and the daughter of the late Rose Honda Kishi, a Columbia Inn employee for more than 40 years. "She was like one of the girls.

"Sometimes when we got off work at 11 p.m., she would come out with us to eat," Muraoka said.

Eugene "Gene" Kaneshiro, the eldest of her three sons, said working 15- to 18-hour days was commonplace for his parents.

"My father was the consummate restaurant public relations man and my mother was the backbone of the restaurant's service end," Gene Kaneshiro said. "The bar was my father's living room and the restaurant my mother's dining room. She was like the person who maintained order."

The former Beatrice Sadako Maehara of Wai'anae was working as a waitress at the old Frankie's Cafe, on South and King streets (where Kawaiaha'o Plaza stands) when she met her husband of 39 years. Tosh Kaneshiro was a dishwasher and fry cook, working for his brother, the late Gentaro Kaneshiro, who was part-owner of Frankie's.

In 1942, the Kaneshiro brothers opened Columbia Inn on the site of what is now the Chinatown Cultural Plaza. They later purchased the old Times Grill on Kapi'olani Boulevard and moved their 24-hour restaurant next to The Advertiser.

Tosh Kaneshiro died in July 1981, and the family sold its interest in the restaurant five years later.

"She was my father's right-hand person, his confidante through all the years," Gene Kaneshiro said.

Headed by Tosh, the Kaneshiros were known as Hawai'i's No. 1 Los Angeles Dodger fans. But not all of them bled Dodger blue.

"My mom was actually a (San Francisco) Giants fan, I don't know why, but she rooted for them quietly," Gene Kaneshiro said.

Beatrice Kaneshiro's other surviving sons are Dennis and Norman of Albany, Calif. She's also survived by two granddaughters and a grandson; brother-in-law George Uehara, the well-known former Columbia Inn chef; and sisters-in-law Mitsu Teruya, the restaurant's longtime cashier, and Otome Kaneshiro, Gentaro's wife.

Her funeral is Friday at Hosoi Mortuary. Visitation is from 5:30 p.m. with the service starting at 6:30 p.m. Aloha attire, no flowers.

A private inurnment will be held Saturday.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.