She is survived by her husband, James Hagihara and daughters, Carol (Brett), Linda, and Diane (Greg). She is also survived by two of her 7 siblings Harumi (Michie) and Robert (Judy) of Canada as well as many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews scattered from Australia to Canada to the US.
Atsu grew up on a cattle and wheat farm in southern Alberta with many fond memories of visiting neighbors, playing with friends and tagging after her brothers. She was an accomplished seamstress and milliner. She married Jim in 1961 at the Raymond Buddhist Temple and they moved to the US. They lived in several western states before settling in Colorado. She was also an accomplished painter with oils, acrylic, watercolor, Chinese water color and sumi painting. She enjoyed many other arts and crafts such as needle point, knitting, crochet and making things for her craft fairs. She was an active volunteer for several ladies groups in the past but most recently for the Linus Project and knitting baby hats for newborns at the Poudre Valley hospital. The many friends she made throughout her lifetime will miss her sweet presence, enduring smile and loving personality.
Services were held at Resthaven Memorial Gardens in Fort Collins, CO.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a non-profit organization in memory of Atsu. Please choose your own or one of her favorites listed below.