Suye Fujikawa

Suye Mayumi Fujikawa was born on December 23, 1929 in Los Angeles, California to Kiyoji and Tamio Mayumi. When Suye was a young girl, the Mayumi family moved to Chula Vista, CA to farm until World War II in 1941 when they were sent to the Poston Relocation Camp in Arizona. When the Mayumi family was released from the Camp in 1945, they moved to Ogden, Utah where Kiyoji found work in a cannery. Suye graduated from Davis High School in Kayesvile, Utah in 1947 and from the Heneger School of Business in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1950. Suye and Frank Fujikawa met and married in Utah. Suye worked at the Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City, Utah from 1951 to 1959 as a secretary. Frank and Suye had four girls in Utah (Christy, Janet, Karen and Sharon). They moved to Chula Vista, California and Frank helped Kiyoji with his gardening jobs. David was born in California. Frank and Suye opened up the Chula Vista Lawnmower shop in 1960 and worked there until they retired in 1997. Suye’s hobbies included photography, playing Bingo, bowling with the JACL League, cooking and watching the Lawrence Welk show. She will be missed by her husband (Frank), five children and their spouses (Christy and Dave Vikander, Janet Fujikawa and Bill Roberts, Karen and Larry Hart, Sharon and Dave Bristow; David Fujikawa and Yuri Kaneda), nine grandchildren (Ty Garrison; Amy Gabriele; Elizabeth, Katherine and Susan Roberts; Edward and Ellen Hart; Kevin Bristow and Eric Fujikawa); seven great grandchildren (Anthony, Kalani and Frankie Garrison; Francesca, Sophie, Stephen and Dyllan Gabriele) and four surviving siblings (Shizuko Nishimura, Misako Honda, Mitsuko Kawamoto and James Mayumi). Suye passed away on July 4, 2011.