Nakako "Naka" Fernandez

Nakako “Naka” Fernandez, 93, died peacefully in her home on February 27. Adventurous, tenacious, and fiercely independent, she left this life as she had always lived it--in her own time and on her own terms.

She was born in 1926 in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, to Takeiichi and Tomei (Takeda) Komine, the youngest of nine children. Following her father’s death when she was only two, the family moved to the village of Kuriyama, somewhere she always said was “the best place ever to grow up.” Surrounded by a forest, mountains, and a river just outside her front door, Naka spent much of her early life exploring Nature. Whether walking over the mountain and through the forest to the Ogose train station or challenging her friends to see how many fish they could catch barehanded in the river, she relished being outside in the natural world.

After graduating from high school in 1943, Naka left her village and moved to the city of Tokorozawa to be the hero of her own story. There she found work in the office of Dr. Hikaro Yosano, a renowned physician at the time, whose integral contribution to the war effort in Japan was to ensure the health and wellbeing of Japanese escort ladies and, thereby, ensure the health and wellbeing of Japanese soldiers. He was also a philosopher and humanitarian, and his influence in helping to shape her character--and her rebellious spirt--in positive ways cannot be overstated.

The aftermath of World War II in Japan created great hardship and constant shortages of the most basic human needs. No rice. No tea. No buildings left standing in many parts of the country. Poverty, hunger, disease. People scavenged what they could or, following the arrival of American occupation forces, tried to buy or sell goods on the black market.

In 1950, Naka and her sister were out in the cold trying to find charcoal when a friend of theirs and her GI boyfriend and his buddy stopped to offer them a ride in their jeep. As they crammed into the back seat, her eyes met those of the GI buddy, Mike Fernandez, and that was that. It took Mike less than a week to call on her. Not even their inability to speak to each other in the same language could deter them, and although the US military tried its hardest to keep them apart, the bond could not be broken. They were married in October 1951, paving the way for other GIs and their Japanese brides. In January 1952, when Mike was ordered State-side, Naka came to America.

She became a citizen and was always grateful to America; in fact, she considered herself “more American than Japanese.” While many American customs, such as Christmas, baffled her to the end, others she embraced with verve: backyard barbecues, NFL football, and sipping chardonnay with friends on the porch.

After military postings in Texas, New Mexico, and Japan, Mike and Naka retired to Austin in 1969. He sought a second career with the State of Texas, while she finally got to put down roots in a home of her own. Nothing made her happier than entertaining her network of Japanese friends with green tea--or wine--and osembe around the dining table. During this time, the couple traveled throughout the US and Canada, especially enjoying their many trips to Las Vegas. In 1982, they returned to Japan and were treated to hardy celebrations with family and friends. Later on, in the interest of his health, they began a daily regimen of exercise and nutrition that would become their later-in-life passion. They quickly became neighborhood celebrities who visited the St. Edward’s track faithfully. With his military discipline and her Japanese sensibilities, they not only succeeded but became role models for how to age gracefully.

Aside from her husband, Naka’s great joy in life was her two sons, Mike and Ed. She took great pride in the fact that both grew to be honest, honorable men and that each of them had sought to better their lives through hard work and education. Naka saw their marriages and the birth of her grandson as the true culmination of her American dream.

Perhaps, the greatest challenge in her later life came when Mike was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1996. She then became his devoted, disciplined caregiver. Largely through her efforts, he was able to enjoy a good quality of life until shortly before his passing in 2011.

Mrs. Fernandez was preceded in death by her beloved husband Mike, her parents and siblings, her infant daughter and son, as well as innumerable relatives and friends. She is survived by her sons, Mike and daughter-in-law Alma Reyes, and Ed and daughter-in-law Patricia Crume, all from Austin; her grandson, Lucas, of Baton Rouge LA; her brother-in-law Lupe Flores of San Antonio; her niece Pat Brindley and husband Jim of Sugar Land; her nephew Rick Flores of Round Rock; Mike’s brothers-in-law Hector Reyes and Joel Reyes and his wife Patricia; as well as many nieces and nephews in Japan and some wonderful neighbors (like Julie and John Vondrak and Elloa and David Mathews), friends, and caregivers (especially, Zainab Maxwell).

Visitation 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress Avenue with Recitation of the Holy Rosary to begin at 6;30 pm.

Funeral Service 10:00 am Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Weed-Corley-Fish Chapel.

Interment will follow at Assumption Cemetery.