Masako Cooper

Sumi was the heart and soul of her big family, which grew to include five generations of children who looked up to her. Sumi was born on March 24, 1935, in the Naka Ward of Yokohama City, Japan. Growing up during World War II and the Great Depression, she developed a fierce, quiet resilience that would define her entire life.

She married in Yokohama, Japan, and had her1st son, Edward. She courageously moved across the world to the United States, where she had her sons Ricky and Joseph, and officially becoming a U.S. citizen. Embracing the role of a single mother with immense grace. She poured her heart into raising her children, worked tirelessly in the local tomato fields and did housekeeping along the Pacific Ocean She later moved to her Oceanside home where she would spend the rest of her life cultivating beautiful gardens, tending to her koi fish ponds, and gathering her family. Sumi was a woman of rare, unbreakable strength. Her family rarely ever saw her cry; she

chose to do her mourning in private because she never wanted anyone else to feel her pain. When she lost parts of her family, her spirit remained.. She endured immense hardships, but she used those experiences to teach her children how to stop and smell the roses, how to endure the pain of loss, and how to keep going when times felt impossible. She was someone you did not want to disappoint when she disapproved; she wouldn't yell; she

would simply shake her head, a gesture her family knew well. For the grand children, she would chase you around the garage with a fly swatter. To Sumi, love was something you felt, but it was also something you tasted. Her Christmas, Birthday, and Thanksgiving celebrations were always grand. Her home was an enchanting wonderland packed with knickknacks and gifts. Her holiday cooking was legendary: she never served anything from a box. For Thanksgiving, she made sure everyone had their absolute favorite dish, even if it meant making two completely different styles of stuffing alongside the homemade turkey, ham, olives, and oysters. New Year's Eve was her ultimate celebration. For those who couldn't experience her home country firsthand, Sumi brought Japan to California. She spent days preparing traditional Japanese dishes.

Sumi was very close to her sister Misako. Every year she would go visit japan for the summer or her family would come to her home in the US. She had the family dressing up in wild wigs and

costumes, dancing together in the dining room until they cried from laughing so hard. Sumi made every single person in her life feel

uniquely special. She has now gone to be with the Lord, reunited with her parents, her two brothers, her cherished son, Eddie and granddaughter Sumi.

She leaves behind a massive legacy of love, survived by her devoted sons, Ricky and Joseph Cooper—whose years of tender, daily care allowed her to live out her final days exactly as she wanted. She is also survived by her sister, Misako, as well as her 6

grandchildren-32 great-grandchildren, and 31

great-great-grandchildren.

Though her voice is now quiet, her family knows that whenever they hear her voice in their memories, they need only listen closely—for she will forever be with them in their hearts, guiding them as though she never left. Sumi will be greatly missed, and she is peacefully awaiting us all in heaven.Thank you to the grandchildren who were able to help comfort her in her last week with us. Family and friends are invited to gather and honor her beautiful life. Wednesday, October 14, 2026 12:00 PM (Noon) at Eternal Hills Memorial Park

(1999 El Camino Real, Oceanside, CA 92054)