MARY LOUISE YOSHINO (nee SEO)
Mary Louise Kikuye Yoshino (nee Seo) was born into an old Japanese samurai family at 2:30 p.m., November 2, 1915, in San Francisco, California. She passed away peacefully at the age of 94 in Silver Spring, Maryland, at 2:30 p.m. August 28, 2010, after a long illness. Her passing came after she lived a very long and productive life. After being raised and educated in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mrs. Yoshino and her entire family were evacuated from the West Coast of the United States and sent to a War Relocation Authority Camp located in Heart Mountain, Wyoming, during WWII, along with hundreds of thousands of other loyal American citizens of Japanese ancestry. Later, she and her sister, Eileen Mie Seo, received work releases and made their way to Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota to live. They both found work with the Catholic Digest. Mrs. Yoshino married her husband, John, on February 16, 1945, at the Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel, Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Her husband was on Active Duty with the U.S. Army, Military Intelligence Service, at that time. After WWII ended, she and her husband moved to Chicago, Illinois, where her son, Wayne was born. While living in Chicago, she worked in the Trust Department of several banks until she moved with her husband and son to Washington, DC in 1957. She was able to successfully combine homemaking with a very busy career as an executive secretary with the Federal government, retiring from the U.S. Information Agency after 30 years of service. Mrs. Yoshino was very proud of her Japanese samurai heritage. She was also proud of her membership in the Japanese American Citizen”s League (JACL) and her Life membership in the 1000 Club of the JACL, which was comprised of members who provided additional financial support to sustain that organization during difficult economic times. She enjoyed ikebana, arts and crafts, ten pin bowling and playing golf with her husband well into her 70”s. Mrs. Yoshino was predeceased by her parents, Sadaroku Seo (father); Tsuruyo Tanabe Seo (mother), of Tottori, Japan; her brothers, Sadaaki Seo; Kenji Seo, and her husband John Yutaka Yoshino. She is survived by her sister, Eileen Mie Seo Yoshino (Kenji-deceased); her sister-in-law, Tomiyo Seo (Kenji-deceased); her son, COL Wayne Richard Yoshino and wife Marion; her nephew, Dr. Jun Edwards Yoshino (Mary Carol); her nieces, Yuki Yoshino; Peggy Ann Seo Oba (Kenji); and many other extended family members and friends. A memorial service will be held for Mrs. Yoshino at the Francis J. Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Blvd., West, Silver Spring, Maryland 20901 on Thursday, September 2, 2010, at 1 p.m. The Inurnment will take place at the Columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA on Tuesday, October 19 at 11 a.m. Please meet at the Administration Building at 10:30 a.m.
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