Yuriko Kodama Sata

Yuriko K. Sata passed away on January 20, 2024 at the age of 94. Yuri was born to Kinsuke and Hosoe Kodama in West Seattle in March, 1929. Her soul mate, Lindbergh (Lindy) Sata preceded her in death in 2006. She leaves behind her beloved baby brother Ben (Lucille) Kodama and her children, Roberta (Tom) Yoshioka, Camille (Jon Nishida) Sata, Holly (Steve) Sata Snyder, John Sata, her 8 grandchildren, Misa, Alex, Emily , Claire, Mack , Keiko, Keilani and Alexis and many nieces and nephews.

Yuri liked to say she grew up in the country. She and her siblings Ken, Yasuko, Nobie, Kriss, Ben and cousins Hideyoshi, Heidi and Keiko grew up in the Sunnydale/Burien area where her parents operated a greenhouse business. In 1942 after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 sending 120,000 Japanese-Americans into Concentration Camps. Yuri was in 7th grade when she and her family were abruptly sent to the Tule Lake Camp in the Northern California desert. Later they were transferred to the Minidoka Concentration Camp in Idaho. Despite being interned, Yuri recalls having fun. Since she was a young teen, she had the freedom to go to school and hang out with her friends, without much supervision of her parents who had to work in the camp. Older teens and adults had a completely different perspective. After the war, her family was released, and they returned to Sunnydale. Although the greenhouse was empty, they were fortunate that a realtor leased the property so the taxes were paid and they didn’t lose everything like many other families. Grandma Kodama re-started the business by taking a loan of poinsettia cuttings which she grew and paid back the loan.

Yuri graduated first from Highline High School and then the University Of Washington School Of Nursing. She worked in Public Health and at Boeing in Seattle. She had additional nursing training in Honolulu and went to Art school in New York City.

Yuri first met Lindbergh Sata as teenagers at Minidoka - they kept in touch through subsequent moves to different cities, and they reunited and married while Lindy attended medical school at the University of Utah. Roberta, Camille and Holly were all born in Salt Lake City. Despite the fact that she was raising three small children, and her husband was in medical school, Yuri somehow found the time to start taking classes in the School of Law. After Lindy’s graduation, they moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he began his Psychiatry Residency at the University of Maryland. Yuri completed her law degree at the University of Maryland in 1967, while Lindy completed his medical residency.

Yuri and Lindy moved the family to Seattle, to join their families and to raise their children in a more diverse community. Her youngest, John, was born. Yuri was the first Japanese American woman to pass the Washington State Bar and was sworn in by her brother in law, the Honorable Judge Warren Chan. She worked as a trial attorney for the Seattle-King County Public Defender’s Office, Juvenile division. She served on several Community Boards, was VP of the Seattle Japanese American Citizens League and served as legal counsel for JACL, as well. She moved to St Louis with her family when her husband was appointed Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at St Louis University Medical Center. She continued to practice law in Missouri.

Yuri led an interesting life. She had so many funny stories about her mom and her siblings. She traveled extensively abroad, yet really enjoyed traveling by car with Lindy, enjoying the country and stopping at casinos along the way. She and Lindy eventually retired in Auburn to spend time with family, and to fish the Green River from their backyard. She liked to go matsutake and chanterelle hunting and of course, heading to the casino to play slots. Yuri enjoyed Ikenobo Ikebana flower arranging and loved to spend time in her yard. Until the end she remained sharp minded, followed the stock market with interest and read two books a week.

Her remembrances of her life, her family and dear friends were vivid and detailed, and she enjoyed telling stories about them, filled with laughter and her funny expressions made us laugh too.

She is dearly loved and appreciated and will be missed by those who knew her, because once she knew you, YOU became a part of her stories and she cherished you all.

A family service was held in Seattle on May 4, 2024 with the gracious help of Stacie Sandritter and Keith Lee of Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home & Cemetery.