Julie Takako Toshimitsu

Julie Takako Toshimitsu was born on February 22, 1938 to Takatoshi and Sumako Matsumoto in Hiroshima, Japan. Her family had a comfortable life in Fukuoka before Japan entered World War 2 , which resulted in a tumultuous childhood that included air raid sirens and the loss of her childhood home. After the family lost their home and business in Fukuoka, they moved a couple of times before they settled in Iwakuni.

Her childhood wasn’t all dark days – she fondly remembered her favorite holiday was New Year’s Day. She loved the beautiful formal clothes, the Osechi Ryori (Japanese New Year’s Food) that her mother would make, and playing games with friends. On New Year’s morning, her family would get up before dawn and get dressed in their traditional clothes. They would make their way to their local shrine to wait for the sun to rise and they would pay their respects to the “Hatsuhi Mode” or the first sunrise of the new year.

Julie was a lifelong reader, known for reading every book from beginning to end on the bookshelves and she loved the library. In addition to her love of reading, she also enjoyed music and singing, as well as any games you could play with friends. She wasn’t interested in traditional sports, but she loved spending time with friends and fondly remembered Haruko who played piano and was her accompanist, Hiroko who did Japanese dance with her, and Toshiro who went on to become a Japanese Calligraphy Master.

When she turned 18 and graduated from high school, Julie traveled to the US to attend college at Ventura College in Ventura, CA. Shortly after arriving in the US, while working for her aunt at TK Farm in Oxnard, CA, she met her future husband Kay Toshimitsu. After a 3-year courtship, Kay and Julie eloped and were married in Las Vegas, NV on February 28, 1959. After a brief honeymoon in Las Vegas, they returned to Los Angeles to start their new life together.

After getting married, Kay and Julie welcomed their first of 7 children and Julie was a stay-at-home mother until 1966 when she started periodically working between pregnancies. In 1979, she started a career at Toyota USA where she would eventually advance to the position of Bi-Lingual Technical Assistant at Toyota Technical Center in Gardena, CA. She retired from Toyota in 2005 after a 26-year career to move to Las Vegas with Kay.

While she was a stay-at-home mother, and even after she started her career, she was an active participant in her children’s school lives. She attended school plays, festivals, and recitals, she baked Blair’s Blueberry Muffins for bake sales, she helped bring bags of newspapers for the recycling paper drives at Amestoy Elementary, even going so far as to help build school projects like a samurai helmet out of toothpicks if necessary. And who can forget the pictures she took at school events with her 110 camera where her finger was in the frame every time.

After her husband met Don Halverson and Helen Sheppard Halverson at Frito-Lay, the 2 couples forged a lifelong friendship that lasted until Julie’s passing in 2022. Their friendship with the Halversons was cemented through weekly dinners and frequent trips to Las Vegas and Laughlin together. The Halversons remained close friends with Julie (and Kay) through the years, frequently coming from their home in Seymour, TN to visit them in Las Vegas, NV.

Julie enjoyed hobbies such as drawing, music, knitting and crocheting, reading, and watching quality television like Japanese dramas and Hallmark Channel movies. She was a Dodgers and Lakers fan in the 80s and 90s, often watching the games in person and on television. She was an enthusiastic participant in the family’s annual camping trips and the outdoor adventures they would have. The family visited most of the national parks in the Western United States and participated in activities like spelunking, white water rafting, and a memorable stay on a houseboat on Lake Mead. Kay and Julie also went to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Dollywood in Tennessee, and 2 trips to Japan. Later in life, Julie was able to visit Japan again. She toured Tokyo and Osaka, visited Mount Fuji and spent a week with her family in Iwakuni.

In 2006, Kay and Julie moved to Las Vegas, NV and settled into their newly renovated and customized home. Julie was an active participant in the renovations, selecting everything that was replaced in the home, including window treatments, floor, appliances, cabinets and countertops, and furniture. It was her dream house and she made sure it was everything she wanted. 10 years later, Kay passed away and Julie stayed in their home until her passing in 2022.

Julie is preceded in death by her husband and 1 grandson. She is survived by her 7 children, 12 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, 1 younger brother, 1 younger sister, and numerous other relatives in Japan.

She will be missed by all and remembered with much love and affection.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Julie's favorite charity :

Shriners Hospitals for Children

2900 Rocky Point Dr.

Tampa, Florida 33607

https://bit.ly/38ZgJRt