Edith Toyo Nobe

Celebrating our beloved Grandma and Great Grandma whose love and music lives on through her 5 grandkids and 5 great grandkids.

“My Grandma meant a lot of things to a lot of people: A graduate of both UC Berkeley and UCLA, she was a passionate schoolteacher and educator who, even in retirement, helped guide and mentor young students. She was a self-taught and accomplished piano player who starred in performances and remained an active member of her band into her nineties. For this and much more, she will be remembered for her talent and intellect by many. I knew her as Grandma, and in that role she was perfect. Whether she was taking care of us, talking to us about our various lives and goals, laughing with us, advising us, encouraging us, celebrating with us, or just simply being with us — Grandma was always, always there. With an open ear and a caring touch, I always knew that no matter what, I had Grandma on my side. She filled our family with music and love and will be greatly, dearly missed.”

-Love, Scott, Brittany, Sophia & James

“It’s hard to imagine a world without getting to see and talk to her. She is my favorite person. Grandma loves movies, mysteries, ice-cream with chocolate sauce and peanuts, the crispiest bacon, fritos, mr. goodbars, Derek Hough and music. She is the best piano player and can play any song by ear. Growing up she was my real life human stuffed animal who would sleep next to me because I was afraid of the dark, ET and because I wanted her to. She made me french toast, cinnamon sugar toast and custard. Every Christmas she puts snuggles dryer sheets in my stocking and finds the most sparkly birthday cards. Because Grandma taught kindergarten for over 20 years in both English and Spanish, she is the reason I passed high school Spanish since she did my homework. One of my favorite things to watch her do is change into her different indoor shoes for different indoor surfaces when she moves from her kitchen to any other room. When I think of home, I think of Grandma. I love you so much Grandma. Thank you for loving me so much. I promise to get Maverick piano lessons so the two of you can play duets.”

-Love, Christina, Chad & Maverick

“Grandma was a very thoughtful and caring person. We enjoyed speaking with her and listening to her detailed stories. She always made Yuri feel welcome and made sure that Yuri was doing well in school and practicing reading or playing the violin. Every year we had interesting surprises in our Christmas stockings. After we took out our nuts, she would make us return them to her so that she could reuse them next year. Grandma loved playing the piano especially oldies by ear. She always made sure that Matt didn’t forget his piece, Maple Leaf Rag, on the piano. She would tease him and make him play it every time she saw him. Last summer was cute because when Matt was playing it again, he was accompanied by Yuri on the drums and Madelyn on the maracas. She loved eating Japanese food at Kitayama or Sagami. And she always loved to eat Sam Woo. Especially the Beef Chow Fun, string beans and eggplant. We miss Grandma so much!”

-Love, Matt, Jocelyn, Yuri & Madelyn

“My favorite memories were hanging out with Grandma during my vacations while everyone else was at work. We’d watch jeopardy and other TV shows and I’d listen to her play piano. She always knew what programs were on TV and at what times so she would be ready to watch and she always had the radio on in the background at home. She had an enormous supply of Werther’s coffee candies at her house which we snacked on. I enjoyed speaking with her on my long drives home from work and even discussing politics though we had opposing views. Christmas was always happy and fun. We’d get matching sweatshirts as kids and always have stockings filled with random things. As our family grew, she would add new stockings for Ryan and Yuri.”

-Love, Jenny & Ryan

“Grandma was a strong, intelligent, humble, and talented woman. She continued to travel, lived independently, and always knew how to boss her grandkids around. She adapted to modern technology, learning how to browse the internet, send emails, use an iPad, and navigated the TV to find Murder She Wrote or the NBA Finals. A trivia master, movie buff, Clipper fanatic, and crossword phenom, her mind was incredibly sharp. When there was a debate, somehow, she was the one to remember the events perfectly to settle family disputes. She was also a social butterfly. I thought I was busy, but it seemed like whenever I called, she was busy line dancing, practicing for the Regents Point Christmas musical concert, watching a movie, grocery shopping, or on the other line with her friends. I’ll definitely miss eating with Grandma. Eating was her jam. She loved chow fun from Sam Woo’s, futomaki from Sagami’s, ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins, and chocolate from See’s Candies. Above all though, music was Grandma's passion and legacy. She always encouraged her grandchildren to be musical despite our resistance. I miss sitting by her side on the couch appreciating Jazz vocals and listening to her sing oldies perfectly, knowing all the lyrics by heart. When I close my eyes and think of Grandma, I envision the beautiful aura of her peacefully playing the piano by ear with her eyes closed without a care in the world. Rest in peace, Grandma. We all miss and love you!”

-Love, Andrew & Michelle