Mrs. Tomiko Walker

Tomiko was born in Kofu, Japan on Oct. 4, 1943, during World War II, to Yasuko and Yoshio Mano. Her siblings are, in order of age, Noriko Kakegawa (sister), Kyoko Yazaki (sister), and Takashi Mano (brother). Being the oldest of the four siblings, Tomiko was always the leader of the group.

She attended grade school at Aioi Syoogakkou (Aioi Elementary School). The first principal of this school was her great-grandfather. For Middle/High School, she attended Yamanashi Eiwa High School. In high school, she was a member of a very strong basketball team. Tomiko was one of the best players. One of her favorite subjects in school was English, so when she attended Kantou Gakuinn (2-year college), she majored in English literature.

Tomiko started working as a receptionist at Mitsubishi, in Tokyo, soon after college. During this time, the Vietnam War was occurring, and this is how she met an American medic named Buddy Leon Walker. Their meeting was by chance because she was supposed to meet someone else, and Buddy was kind enough to try and help her. They went to get a cup of coffee. The couple became close and were married in December of 1969 at the American Embassy. The newlyweds moved to the United States. Being only 26 years old at the time, this was a brave and exciting adventure for Tomiko. She was leaving her home and family for a new land and life.

The couple moved to Torrance, California, and, in 1971, Tomiko started working at Toyota as a receptionist. She became pregnant and gave birth to Tonya Yoko Walker on March 7, 1973. The same year, the young family moved to Fresno, California. In 1975, they moved to Roseburg, Oregon, and, her son, Brian Yoshi Walker entered the world on September 6, 1976. The family moved back to Fresno again and Tomiko started working as a bookkeeper at Yaohan Supermarket. She worked here for many years until the store closed down. Since then, she worked at Nisshinbo, Mt. Vernon Mills, and Bomanite.

Tomiko was an active and eager learner. She attended Fresno Adult School to learn about computers when her company, Yaohan closed. Just recently, she discovered YouTube and Netflix, and was able to find many Japanese music artists and movies that she loved as a child in Japan. She had so many interests and talents: cooking, traveling, sports, singing, music, and dancing (to name a few). Tomiko loved good food and she always said she was a “good eater.” Her favorite food growing up was Ramen noodles. She would always say that it’s like the All-American hamburger. She always wanted to try new recipes from the newspaper. She would cut them out and put them in a rubber band in a drawer in the kitchen. Curry rice, sukiyaki, tempura, Chinese chicken salad, burritos, Huevos Rancheros, cookies, cakes, donuts, cinnamon rolls. There was no way the kids would go hungry.

She loved to travel. When Buddy and Tomiko had their young family, they would go on backpacking and camping trips every summer. They travelled to Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Glacier National Park, Miette Hot Springs in Jasper National Park, Banff National Park, and Vancouver Island, among many others. Tomiko was able to visit her home country of Japan several times in the last 20 years. It was wonderful to go back to her home country and see how it had changed over the many years she was gone. She also wanted her children, Tonya and Brian, to meet their family there and experience what she grew up with. Tomiko also travelled to France in 1997 with the Fresno State Choir. In 2005, she went on her first cruise to Mexico with her new husband, Giovanni DeLucia, and in 2006, they took a vacation to Hawaii. Tomiko and Giovanni also went to Italy to visit his family. Some of the local trips she went on were to San Francisco and Los Angeles to visit Little Tokyo and Japan Town. The Cherry Blossom Festival every spring was always something she tried to attend. She and Giovanni also went on hikes in Yosemite, Woodward Park, and on the Mineral King Trail. Whenever Giovanni asks her to do something, she would never say no. She was always up for an adventure and something new.

Sports was always a passion of Tomiko’s. She started out with basketball in Japan, but was also on an adult soccer team in Fresno. There is one memory that stands out of Tomiko on the soccer field: She was running with the ball, had a scuffle with another player and fell, then, as she was on the ground, kicked the ball away. What sportsmanship! She also loved to swim laps at the gym, especially with her flippers. Tomiko was very competitive at table tennis. Anytime anyone was over at the house, there would always be a ping pong game going. There was always lots of fun and laughter. She also participated in local running events every year. The Cross City Race and the Shin Zen Garden Run were two of the regular races she would run. She had several 2nd place medals from these runs and was very proud of that achievement.

Music was such a significant part of Tomiko’s life. Whether it be singing at home, listening to classical music on Sunday mornings, or dancing to a live band, she would have music in her life. When she lived in Japan, her sister Noriko and she would play the piano together. She never took lessons, but learned how to play on her own. Tomiko loved playing the popular tunes of the day. Dancing allowed Tomiko to be free. She was never more uninhibited than when she was on the dance floor. Not a day would go by in these last 15 years or so that she wouldn’t talk about the dance she went to that weekend or the dance she was going to the following weekend. Giovanni and Tomiko were an energetic and fun dance couple at many Fresno and Tulare Big Band, Dixieland, and Swing dance events for the last 15 years. They were just beginning to start traveling to dance events. One of her favorites was the Mardi Gras dances in San Clemente, Palm Springs, and Pismo. Tomiko was a member of the Songs of Italy, The Italian Club, The Big Band Society, and The Dixieland Society.

Although Tomiko had many interests, her greatest joy was spending time with her family. She was a very dedicated mother who taught her children that a good education was priority. She taught them to work hard, but also, to have fun. Tomiko and her two children, Brian and Tonya were always involved in something. They ran in the Cross City Race together every year, they travelled to Lake Tahoe and San Francisco. She was always by their side during music or sports competitions. There was always so much laughter in the house. Her grandchildren, Ava Lindsay Overton (6 yrs.), Mindy Lee Overton (2 yrs.) and Addison Jordan Walker (3 mos.) gave her so much happiness. She wanted to be with them and share everything she knew about her Japanese culture, dancing, music, sports, and food. In the last 6 years, she was able to enjoy seeing her grandchildren grow. Ava and Mindy would come to visit at least twice a year to spend time with Obaachan. They had a great time. Obaachan would sing and dance with Ava to her favorite Japanese songs, they would watch movies together. The last movie they saw together was Ponyo (a Japanese story about a fish who wants to become a little girl). They went to the snow with Tonya, Brian, Shannon and Giovanni. They would have snowball fights, build a snowman, and go sledding. Tomiko loved them so much. She wanted to spend as much time with them as she could. She was able to see her granddaughter, Addison, born. She took so much pleasure in holding and cherishing her new granddaughter that her son, Brian and wife Shannon brought into the world.

Tomiko was so proud of her children, Tonya and Brian, and of her three grandchildren, Ava, Mindy, and Addison. She would always have some story to tell about the last visit they had.

Tomiko’s last journey was her battle with breast cancer. Once she was diagnosed, she realized what she needed to do and did it. She completed her treatments and took her medicine while continuing to go dancing every weekend if she could. When she found out it had moved to her brain, she even told her daughter, Tonya, not to worry. In the last days of her life, she had the love and support of those she loved and those who loved her. She said that she had no regrets in her life.

Tomiko was such a strong, beautiful, and independent woman who never gave up on anything and was continually improving her life. We will forever treasure our memories of our lives with her. We know you are watching over us now and we will continue to make you proud.

She will be deeply missed. We love you, Mom.

Services were held on Sunday, September 12, 2010 at 2:00 P.M. at Lisle Funeral Home, 1605 L. St., Fresno CA, 93721.