Faye Mitsuko Kazato

Faye Mitsuko Kazato passed away peacefully on August 31, 2015 at the age of 93. The period before her passing was a blessing, as it allowed family members time to express their love and to reflect on the joys and laughter she evoked in all who surrounded her.

Born to immigrant parents, Yorisuke and Tomo Hirata, on November 29, 1921 in Parlier, California, Faye grew up as the youngest of four children on her family's farm. She graduated from Parlier High School in 1939, where she was a majorette, then earned an A.A. degree in Social Sciences from Reedley College in the spring of 1941.

Faye married Henry Kazato, a graduate of UCSF Medical School, on November 1, 1941, following the completion of his internship at Fresno County Hospital. One month later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and by July 1942, Faye, Henry and all other Japanese-Americans were forced to leave the West Coast by government order. The WWII internment camp at Poston, Arizona was their home until they were allowed to move to Detroit, Michigan, the birthplace of their son, Ernest.

After the war, they returned to Fresno, where Henry established his medical practice on the Westside of Fresno. In 1948, Faye gave birth to daughter, Janice. While she felt blessed to be a mother to both a son and a daughter, she was particularly proud to attend the graduations of her granddaughter, Amy, from both Cornell and Columbia Universities.

Faye loved people and spread joy and light to everyone she met. She was a great ambassador for America on her travels throughout the world with her husband, Henry, and her ability to speak Japanese was invaluable during family trips to Japan. Faye and Henry also loved to entertain family and friends on the Hammond organ. They were married for 49 happy years before his death on August 21, 1990.

Nurturing the family was everything to Faye, and the family celebration with traditional Japanese food on New Year's Day will not be the same without her chicken umani.

Faye was preceded in death by her brother, George Hirata and his wife, Alice Hirata; her brother, Willis Hirata and his wife, Marlene Hirata; her sister, Helen Machida and her husband, Reverend Thomas J. Machida; her niece, Kathy Hirata; and her nephews, Calvin Machida and John Lyle Hirata.

Faye is survived by her son, Ernest Kazato, M.D and his wife, Carolyn Sakauye M.D.; her daughter, Janice Dobry and her husband, Jim Dobry; her granddaughter, Amy M. Dobry; her nephew, Byron Hirata and his wife Juanita Hirata; her nieces, Joyce Asato, Oneita Hirata and Rhonda Hirata; and many grandnieces and grandnephews.

Faye experienced life with an innocent spirit and a sense of childlike wonder, even in her 90s. The family will miss her smiles, witty conversations, caring heart and generosity.

Memorial Services will be held at the United Japanese Christian Church, Clovis, California on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 11:00 am.