Nobie Kitagawa

1928-2024

Nobie Kitagawa passed away unexpectedly on Monday, Dec 16, 2024. She was 96. Nobie was born in San Pedro, CA, on February 19, 1928, to Chotaro (George) and Kazue Nagashima.

Nobie’s life was full of challenges. Her father was a deep-water tuna fisherman and was at sea for months at a time. In the early 1930’s the Nagashima family lived on Terminal Island in San Pedro Harbor, CA. Nobie and her mother contracted tuberculosis while George was away at sea. Nobie’s uncle took her brother, Kazuyoshi (Bill), to stay with relatives in Japan, while Nobie and her mother were committed to a sanitorium. Nobie recovered but her mother died from TB. Nobie was released to an orphanage where she remained until her father remarried and felt able to care for Nobie and her brother once again.

At the start of WWII, Terminal Island was home to a US Navy Air Base, and the Japanese fishing community that lived on the island was considered a national security threat. On February 19, 1942, Nobie’s 14th birthday, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, ordering all people of Japanese descent on the West Coast to be moved to internment camps, whether they were immigrants or US citizens. Terminal Island was among the first locations where the population was forcibly removed. Most women and children on Terminal Island, including Nobie, her brother and stepmother were removed within 72 hours after Order 9066 was signed and sent to the camp at Manzanar, a dusty, desolate place in California.

Nobie recalls coming home from church to find that their home had been seized, her father missing, and their bank accounts frozen. The government forced the Terminal Island families to give up all their possessions that could not be carried in one suitcase per adult. Among the things Nobie lost was her prized Shirley Temple doll, which she kept in a glass case because it was so special. She later learned the government had separated the fishermen, including her father, from their families and transferred them in blacked out railcars to North Dakota for extensive questioning about their loyalties before they were eventually returned to their families at Manzanar.

The Navy destroyed all the homes on Terminal Island, so after the war, Nobie’s family chose to settle in Denver. She graduated from Manual High School then went to Ottawa University in Kansas, where she earned her degree in education. She returned to Denver and became a firstgrade teacher at Montview Elementary School.

In 1956 Nobie married Holly Kitagawa, a wonderfully resourceful man she met through her brother. Holly built a successful family medical practice and together they raised 6 children. Nobie devoted all her energy to her children, constantly attending piano recitals, sporting events, and band concerts; taking kids to swimming lessons; and keeping the kids happy singing or playing games on long drives for vacations. Her love of cooking passed to many of her children. She often recreated many of the cuisines she learned from her gourmet club for family dinners. New Year’s Day is a major event in the Japanese community. Nobie hosted her annual New Year’s celebration where she cooked traditional Japanese and American dishes for as many as 60 people.

Nobie often reflected on her life in amazement. She never imagined she would get to travel the world and Holly took her on trips to almost every continent. Nobie’s son, Benji, took Holly and Nobie on her only trip to Japan in 2013 where her ancestors must have been smiling on her. Benji decided they should ride the train to Wakayama Prefecture where her parents were born. On a whim, Nobie stopped at a post office to ask if any of her relatives still lived in the area - a mail carrier kindly took her straight to the house of her surprised cousin, who greeted the small group of travelers with open arms.

Nobie was undaunted by age - she and Holly rode a giant innertube behind their son Genji’s boat on Lake Roosevelt, WA when she was in her eighties. On her 90th birthday she celebrated by flying to San Francisco with her family, eating a whole Dungeness crab, riding the street cars, and playing Rummikub until late hours of the night in the hotel bar. During the height of the pandemic, Nobie survived (asymptomatically) at least one bout with COVID! A few years later, despite her failing memory, Nobie began to talk of her childhood, recalling her home address in San Pedro and that she went to Richard Henry Dana Junior High School in California. So, for her birthday, Benji and Genji took her back to Southern California to visit all the places she mentioned from her childhood. They met up with Nobie’s grandson Koji and his Japanese taiko drum group who let her play along with them. Nobie celebrated her 96th birthday with extended family at the Broadmoor and rode the Cog Railway up Pike’s Peak. This past October, Benji and his wife took Nobie to Las Vegas to gamble, shop, eat, and gamble more. After a full day, Nobie still had the energy to have a nice dinner, see a show, gamble, then join family members to snack and gamble until 2 am.

At home Nobie relaxed in her sunroom by pouring over photo albums for hours and playing Word Search on her iPad. Her day-to-day routine involved companions keeping her busy. Katie took Nobie on excursions all around Denver, including walking through the museum of Natural History, the Aquarium, Buffalo Bill’s grave, the circus, a doll museum, and the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival. Irene, Gabby, Audrey and Pat took her shopping, to exercise, play Bingo, Dollar Jackpot and other games, make greeting cards and jewelry, eat ice cream, watch movies and party!

Nobie often expressed gratitude for the people in her life – family, friends and caregivers. Her life was filled with as much joy, love and happiness as anyone could ever wish to experience. Having lived a good life, Nobie seemed happy she was to reunite with her parents, brother, husband, son Kenji, her lifelong friend Mary and good friend Gayle. She is survived by her children Lisa (Randy), Jill, Benji (Antoinette), Miko (Skip), Genji (Becky), her grandson Koji, her extended family and a few close friends. Her family is planning a private Celebration of Life in Denver.

Instead of flowers and koden (traditional Japanese monetary gifts to family), please donate to the Japanese American National Museum https://www.janm.org or Manzanar National Historic site https://www.nps.gov/manz/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm.