Kimiko Yamamoto Hunt

Peacefully on Saturday, February 20, 2016, Almighty God in His infinite wisdom, mercy, and grace, gently closed the eyes of Kimiko Yamamoto Hunt and she took her final breath of life while surrounded by her four children, her niece Jermain, her friend Shihomi Grant, and her pastor Rev. Mary Zambrana. Kimiko was born on May 21, 1925 to Takeo and Yasu Yamamoto. She was the second of six children and the oldest girl. She and her siblings named Kazuo, Haruo, Nobuo, Ayako, and Chiyoko all lived with their parents in the city of Yokohama in Japan. Her name, Kimiko, was a common name in her country. As a girl, Kimiko helped take care of her brothers and sisters. She loved to swim and ride her bike as well as run against other children her age.

Kimiko came from an educated and close-knit family. Her grandfather was a principal and her father was a teacher at the grade school she attended. She attended high school (which was uncommon for a girl during this time period) at Kanagawa Kenritsu Dai-ichi Jyoshi Kouko. The Kanagawa Prefecture First Girl’s High School was the best public girl’s high school in the prefecture or state. She graduated 1943.

After high school, she worked at a few odd jobs. She also worked as a bank teller at Yokohama Dai-ichi Ginkou. The First Bank of Yokohama was a commercial bank and anyone who worked there had to have “a good head for numbers”.

As a young woman, Kimiko was a serious no-nonsense person who liked nice clothes, perfume, and jewelry. In 1947 after World War II, she met an African-American United States Army soldier named Walter Albert Hunt. This began a beautiful relationship which lasted until his death on January 26, 1998. They were married in Yokohama on September 25, 1951. This marriage produced four children – Alice Tomi, Bettie Michi, Linda Sumi, and William Hajime. Kimiko said that the births of each of her children were the happiest times of her life.

With much strength and courage, Kimiko left her homeland and family to come to the United States in February 1952 while pregnant with her first child, Alice. Kimiko and Walter purchased their house on 61st Street in August 1952. Later, in 1954 through 1956, she and Walter traveled much of Europe while he was still in the military. In fact, two of their children (Bettie and Linda) were born in France. Kimiko again showed much strength and courage living in Philadelphia while her husband was sometimes stationed in far away places, such as Greenland. She called this as the hardest times. She cared for her children as well as her sick mother-in-law. In 1959, their last child and son, William, was born and the entire family re-located to Fort Riley, Kansas. They remained there for one year, and returned to permanently live in Philadelphia. Since her husband’s discharge from the Army in 1961, Kimiko and Walter raised their family in West Philadelphia on 61st Street. Kimiko often talked of other hard times as being tough like having major stomach surgery in 1974 and raising four teenagers. She often talked of the good times like going back to Japan after thirteen years of being away and the graduation of each of her four children from college, all of which far out-weighed the bad times.

In 1964, Kimiko became an American citizen and was proud of the fact that she voted in every major election as recently as November 2015.

Kimiko was a senior member of the Japanese Christian Church of Philadelphia (JCCP) where she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Saviour and was baptized. In this Presbyterian denomination church, she faithfully served as Treasurer and as an Elder for many years. She is considered a mother of JCCP and was affectionately known as “The Boss”. She was also a supporter of her husband’s church, the 48th Street Mount Pleasant Church, especially for the past seventeen years by giving a contribution in her husband’s memory to the Deacon Board’s annual fundraiser.

Kimiko could fluently speak both Japanese and English. She loved to travel and has visited many places throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel. Kimiko enjoyed attending the Older Adult Sunshine Center where she looked forward to eating lunch and playing bingo. She was kind yet strong. She reached her goals in life of having a good husband, children, and a nice home. She never had to work a job after marrying her husband. She lived a wonderful and charmed life. She believed that in following the “Golden Rule” of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, life will treat you fairly.

Mommy, Mom, Aunt Tommy, Miss Kimiko leaves to cherish her memory: three daughters – Alice Hunt, Bettie Hunt-Aycox (Robert), and Linda Lane (James) of Missouri City, Texas; one son William Hunt; six grandchildren – Travis Hunt, Jessica Hunt, Robert Lane, DeMarcus Hunt, Matthew Lane, and Tamir Hunt; three great-grandchildren – Jibril Scott, Jennah Scott, and Meagon Jackson; one brother Haruo Yamamoto of Japan; two nieces – Geneva Fuller and Jermain Hunt; numerous nephews and nieces in Japan; many great-nieces and great-nephews in both Japan and the United States; many friends; and her beloved JCCP church family.

Lovingly Submitted

by

The Hunt Family

(and mostly by granddaughter, Jessica Kimiko Hunt)