She grew up in Leucadia and lived there until 1942 when she and her family were relocated to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona. She was a California Scholarship Federation Seal Bearer when she graduated from San Dieguito High in 1949. Although she was accepted to the University of California at Berkeley, Miki opted to stay in the North County area and earned her AA degree from Mira Costa College. She married her life-long partner, Mitsuru “Mits” Nagata; they eloped in Las Vegas on April 25, 1952 and they were married for almost 66 years. Their first daughter, Gale, was born in 1955, but sadly died due to serious heart complications three months later. They went on to have three more daughters: Joyce, Janet, and Pat. Miki was a devoted wife and mother, active in community organizations and activities such as Girl Scouts (Girl & Leader), PTA, Oceanside Library Board of Trustees, Mira Costa College Advisory Board and Armed Forces YMCA Foundation. She enjoyed working for the California Highway Patrol as a State Chairperson for many years.
In 1999, she was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy, a rare neurological disorder, which she battled in the same way she lived her life, with courage, tenacity, and resolve. She had a strong will to live, but ultimately succumbed to complications of the disease and passed away peacefully with family at her side.
She is predeceased by daughters Gale and Joyce; survived by her husband Mits, daughters Janet Yumen and Pat Tchang, six grandchildren, and her sister Haruko Meinhardt.
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