Keiko Samimy

Keiko Komiya Samimy was born on January 9th 1952 to Michi and Kohkichi Komiya. She was born and raised in the city of Mutsu in Aomori, Japan, and completed her primary and secondary education there. Following this, she immigrated to the United States and eventually earned a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While in graduate school, she met her husband of 39 years, Mohammad Samimy. They then moved to Columbus, Ohio. Keiko accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. She was promoted to Full Professor and retired after over 30 years of service to the department. In addition to her husband, Keiko is survived by her daughter, Shaadee Samimy. Keiko was a deeply beloved wife, mother, friend, colleague, teacher, and mentor. She was incredibly thoughtful, generous, and inquisitive. To her daughter, Shaadee, she passed on a love of books, cats, foreign languages, soapy TV dramas, and tiramisu. Among their most cherished memories were their annual travels to Japan to visit Keiko’s mother. Keiko was also a longtime member of the Columbus Japanese Christian Church and frequently turned to her faith as a source of resilience and guidance to serve others. In accordance with her wishes, her funeral and memorial gathering will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Columbus Humane (https://www.columbushumane.org/).