Cynthia Kikue Page

She was born on September 27, 1968 in Covina, California to Robert and Yomiko Tom.

She graduated from Placer High School in Auburn, CA in 1986 and then attended Heald Business College. She met her husband Brian in 1985 in Auburn where they started their journey together. Cynthia’s journey took her from her childhood in San Jose, CA to Auburn, CA before she began her career in Orange County as an administrative assistant working in a variety of industries including: managed healthcare, retail management, and property management. She and her husband then moved on to Las Vegas where she worked in the construction industry.

Cynthia’s greatest loves in life were her family, friends and especially her dogs and desert tortoises. She also loved cheering on her beloved Vegas Golden Knights NHL hockey team. Cynthia was a loving wife, devoted daughter and was a kind person, who was a loyal, sweet and generous friend to all who truly knew her.

Survivors include her husband, Brian Page; father, Robert “Bob” Tom and cousins: Edward and his wife Nicole Chambers,and their beautiful daughters: Emma and Charlotte, both of whom Cynthia adored.

Cynthia helped make a positive difference in her life by regularly donating to her favorite charities including: A Path 4 Paws, Pawsitive Difference, A Home for Spot, Best Friends Animal Society, Oregon SPCA, VGK Foundation, and St. Jude. Her family and friends encourage anyone who knew Cynthia to honor her by helping to carry on with her personal mission to help any of these outstanding organizations in any way possible. In addition, her family would also appreciate donations in any amount, if able, in Cynthia’s name to the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation and the Rheumatology Research Foundation to help in research, education and awareness of Rheumatoid Arthritis and other debilitative autoimmune diseases.

Cynthia also helped make a positive difference in her passing by being an organ and tissue donor where she was able to help save the lives of three people who may have perished without her most precious and selfless gift of life.

Cynthia’s passing was due to a sudden massive brain aneurysm and not directly related to the severe and debilitative case of Rheumatoid Arthritis that affected nearly all facets of her life. Although she had greatly reduced the number of people she interacted with in person due to being immunocompromised she still maintained great relationships with her friends and family via telephone and social media. She was an incredibly kind, thoughtful and loving wife, daughter and friend, frequently being there to provide love, support and the more than occasional gift to her family and friends.

The following was written by one of Cynthia’s loving “distance” friends and illustrates the deep sense of loss that we all feel:

So Many Questions!

How does such a tiny lady leave such an enormous hole in our hearts?

The words gentle, sweet and generous come to mind.

Inspiration too!

I only knew part of her… the last part,… a painful part,…

but the kindness that came out of that part was HUGE!

She was trapped in a tiny fragile body that frustrated her, made her angry and gave her dark thoughts. Understandable.

RA came on at such a young age and progressed so aggressively!

Question! How could this possibly be fair?

How could any of this last year be considered fair with the loss of her mom and her wild Yorky, Callie.

Most of us have lived long enough to know that life isn’t fair.

We gave up on that naïve way of thinking a long time ago.

Fair? In no way is fair applicable to such a precious person!

She never complained to me and would only describe her pain if I asked.

By this last part of our friendship, RA had robbed her of many joys….

It made her world quite small: her heart however, remained HUGE!

Cynthia’s pleasures now revolved around Saturday nights with her friend group (Brian, Jae, Tracy and Nolan), carry out meals, a special couch for her comfort, laughing at Jae craziness, everyone relaxed and eventually falling asleep.

I’ve seen pictures.

Also, Trips…Trips to her physician, trips to the vet, and an occasional hockey game.

Shopping on her iPad was one of the few things she could manage independently that brought joy and filled the space of long days and nights.

Shopping enabled her giving in the only way possible now. Brian was her “wing man” providing the funds.

In fact, his amount of caring for her over the years was equivalent to the enormity of the disease and his immense love for her. As her dependence grew, he stepped up. There really are no words for such a devoted care giver.

Yes, Internet shopping late at night. Chewy will miss her. Amazon too!

Generous to everyone she knew.

Always reaching out, gifting and comforting others.

Personal gifts, holiday dinners, Christmas packages.

When she learned I was going to be alone last Christmas,

she called around trying to find a restaurant that would be open and deliver a Christmas dinner! I couldn’t even imagine such a gesture.

Generous also to those she only knew about through her donations to various animal causes. Blankets for dogs at Christmas.

Her world was smaller but her heart was HUGE

Question! How does such a tiny lady leave such an enormous hole in our heart?

When we lost our pets, she cried along with us, sent flowers, gifts and friends to be with us when she couldn’t.

She experienced those tragedies like they were her own: Petals, Missie Tucker (?) and others.

Question! How do you love someone from a distance? Not ever meeting them in person?

Since we were both night owls and awake often until midnight,

There was often a nightly exchange of texts pictures and videos …mostly of our pets.

Pets, her fur babies, reciprocated her unconditional love.

They modeled Halloween costumes, were the subject of her Christmas cards, and had unimaginable amounts of toys, treats, and attention.

I remember Lexi was already modeling her “My First Christmas” sweater in November. Cynthia could hardly wait!

Question! Now how does one explain this loss to a tortoise, Ella, her therapy dog, and other sensitive pets.

Her world was small and continually shrinking.

Where circumstances tried to harden her, she chose to remain soft.

What R.A. robbed her of, she made up for in the best way she could

Coping but heartbreaking for others to watch.

The result of that Wednesday morning phone call…

Devastating Shock! Disbelief! Not anticipated!

This can’t be happening!!!

I had already purchased her February Valentine.

Still trying to process, we grieve now and yet we can’t be selfish and want her to continue in this …. compromised state.

You know she would want us to be comforted.

Question! And what do we do now?

Being out of pain seems like rational thinking and somewhat of a relief.

But maybe not completely comforting to those who adored her.

Still, it’s something to cling to right now.

Question! What do we do now? What do we do with her contact on our phones, the saved endless texts, the pet videos?

What do we do with pictures and the “likes” that pop up on past social media that startle us, jar us, and wash over us with unimaginable sadness once again.

Perhaps there is some solace in knowing “no more”.

No more injections, no more bitter tasting meds, no more trips to the doctor to figure out new solutions to pain, no more depending on others for every detail of daily life.

Observation: The diversity of people in this room speaks to the huge range of her love.

They say the amount of grief is equivalent to the love.

Question! How does such a tiny person make such a huge impact on our lives?

By her endless giving.

But even in her absence, she is still reaching out, giving gifts, and caring for others.

And now each of us will process this in their own way. In the best way we can.

I am definitely blessed to have known her even in such a small, distant way.

And when we see her again, I can imagine she will be surrounded by a huge collection of dogs on her lap and a tortoise sleeping on her shoulder feeling her heartbeat.

Dianne Whitaker/January 27/2024

Per Cynthia’s wish, there will be no services and her ashes will be with her family.