She was born February 12, 1927 in Manila, Philippines and after World War II family returned to Japan, living in Fukushima.
Most of the Higuchi family immigrated to Brazil seeking to make a life in a new country. But before she joined her family in Brazil, a man named Katsuhiro in a neighboring city had heard that she was going to Los Angeles where his brother Yoshikazu lived. Katsuhiro had also heard that this lady was single and might be a good match for his brother. He got word to her that he was seeking someone who might take a package to his brother and could she take it and deliver the package to his brother Yoshikazu. While the ship was en route to Los Angeles, Katsuhiro wrote his brother in Los Angeles telling him that he was sending Toki his way and that she might be a good match for him (and to be on his best behavior). There began their long-distance courtship.
Mom continued on to Brazil to be with her family and got a job in Sao Paolo doing clerical work. Dad was living in the U.S. but kept in touch with mom. He visited her in Brazil, where they married & had their first son, Frank. Mom came to Calif for a time where they were making life plans and decided to settle in Brazil and start a farm.
However, when their daughter Eleanor was born they changed their plans, deciding to stay in the U.S. (determining that living in the harsh interior of Brazil might be too much for a girl).
At this time, Dad was self-employed as a gardener, Mom stayed home with the kids while learning to decorate cakes in case dad was injured or unable to work. She became very skilled decorating cakes, entering local competitions. We still have pictures of the elaborate icing work she did by free hand.
A third child came along while they living in Costa Mesa and before long, they moved to Riverside so Dad could get a new set of customers and grow his gardening practice.
But they wanted to make a better living in order to provide for their 3 children. With some help and luck, he & mom started a plant nursery on an open plot of 10 acres of hard, dry earth among the orange groves in Moreno Valley (then Sunnymead) in 1969.
Mom stayed at the nursery full time while dad worked both his gardener job and nursery duties for a time and then dedicated his time at the nursery soon thereafter.
The nursery wasn’t a success right away and but eventually with hard work (often 7 days a week), the nursery began to thrive and the entire family worked on the nursery, including for a time, other members of the Higuchi family who had also immigrated to California from Brazil. Mom enjoyed interacting with customers while dad focused on the plants. They built their own house (with a pool!) enjoying the fruits of their hard work. Along the way, all 3 kids went off to college and careers outside the nursery business.
After 30 years, they decided it was time to retire and sold the nursery.
After retiring they moved to Glide, Oregon after hearing that other Japanese had moved there after the war.
After determining the cold and snow were a little too much (and finding few Japanese folks), they came back to California and were looking for a place to buy and call home in the Chico area. While living in Chico, dad suffered a heart attack, so they headed back to Moreno Valley to live with their daughter. After recovering, they eventually moved to the Banning area.
In Banning they had peach, cherry, persimmon and other fruit trees, saw a black bear, raccoon, rattlesnake, other critters and plenty of lizards in the backyard. Had occasional wildfires on Banning Bench and once had to evacuate down to the City of Banning. Mom and Dad lived there 16 years enjoying the solitude and eventually moved to Moreno Valley to be closer to their daughter.
She later moved in with Eleanor as her needs grew and enjoyed time with Eleanor and visits from their sons, one in Northern California, the other from New York and later the Seattle area and lived comfortably with Eleanor and was well looked after for the past three and a half years until her passing.
She is survived by her husband, Yoshikazu, her children; Frank, Eleanor and David, as well as her two grandchildren Andrew and Ariana and her daughter-in-law Anabel, Frank’s wife.
Mom was never one to fuss and was the as the cliché goes, the better half, being the half that softened Dad’s rougher edge. She always looked out for us and was more lenient, but wasn’t afraid to let us know if we’d crossed the line. But we always knew she’d be the one we went to if we needed someone to talk to. People who knew her describe her as “sweet” and always thinking about others before herself. Her laughter and humor will be extremely missed. She was a loving and caring mother, grandmother and mother-in-law.
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