Keiko Sebata

Keiko was born in Dalian, Manchuria, to Hiroshi and Shizuko Nishida where Hiroshi was a doctor for South Manchuria Railway. He died when Keiko was three years old, and she and her mother moved to Urawa, Japan where her maternal family had already relocated from Manchuria not long before them. When Keiko was eight, Shizuko also died, and at that point her two aunts, Shigeko and Sachiko Nishida, continued to raise her in Urawa.

Growing up, Keiko admired how her maternal grandfather, Jukichi Nishida, spent most of his adult life outside Japan: studying business in Chico & Paradise (CA), working in Seattle (WA) & Ellamar (AK), and running his own trading business in Dalian. Keiko studied English literature at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo and then worked for Japan Airlines as an international reservation agent which gave her the opportunity to travel to different countries during this early stage of her adult life.

Keiko soon married her close childhood friend, Tadayuki (Tabo) Sebata, and the following year, her daughter Yurika (Yuri) was born. For the next several decades, Keiko devoted her life to her family, her aunts, and helping her husband run their pediatric clinic. After their retirement in 2021, Keiko and Tabo moved to San Francisco, not only to be closer to Yuri and her family, but also to follow in her adventurous grandfather’s footsteps.

Wherever she lived and visited, Keiko had a special ability to make new friends and stay connected with them. She will be remembered by all for her infectious smile, generosity, courage, and compassion.

Keiko leaves behind her husband Tabo, daughter Yuri, grandson Gavin, and son-in-law Ben Dempster. We know Keiko’s parents, aunts, grandparents, Tabo’s parents and many of her friends will be welcoming her with open arms to join them in paradise.

As she wished, Keiko’s ashes were scattered in the ocean. From the San Francisco Bay, the currents beneath the Golden Gate Bridge sent her off into the Pacific Ocean.

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瀬端惠子は、2023 年1月22日サンフランシスコの自宅で脳腫瘍との短い闘病の後、安らかに天国へ旅立ちました。

惠子は満州の大連にて村尾弘と静子の間に生まれました。弘は南満洲鉄道の医師として働いていました。父親は惠子が3歳の時に亡くなり、惠子と静子は静子の家族が前年に大連から引っ越してきた埼玉県の浦和に移りました。静子は惠子が8歳の時に亡くなり、以後惠子は浦和で二人の叔母、西田重子と幸子に育てられました。

惠子は、小さい頃から母方の祖父、西田重吉の長い外国生活（米国で勉学と就労、満州で事業経営）に憧れていました。彼女は青山学院大学で英米文学を学び、日本航空で国際線の予約エージェントとして働き、仕事を通じて若い惠子は色々な国へ訪ねに行く機会を得ました。

後惠子は幼馴染の瀬端忠之と結婚、翌年には娘の百合香（ユリ）を出産しました。 その後数十年間、惠子は家族、叔母たち、そして夫の小児科クリニックのために人生を捧げました。 惠子と忠之は2021年に退職後、娘家族のそばに住むためだけでなく、憧れだった冒険好きな祖父の足跡を辿るようにサンフランシスコに引っ越しました。

惠子は、夫の忠之、娘のユリ、孫のギャビン、義息子のベン デンプスターを残して旅立ちました。天国では、惠子の両親、二人の叔母、祖父母、忠之の両親、そして友人たちが両手を広げて彼女を迎え入れていることでしょう。

惠子は生前より自分の周りや旅先で新しい友達を作り、つながりを保つ特別な能力を持っていました。私たちは彼女の笑顔、思いやり、勇気、寛大さをいつまでも忘れません。

本人の希望で、遺灰は海に散灰しました。惠子はサンフランシスコ湾から海の流れに導かれ、ゴールデンゲートブリッジの下をくぐって太平洋へと旅立って行きました。

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.sanfranciscocolumbarium.com for the Sebata family.