Kiyoko was born in Japan, on February 12, 1930, to Katuko and Uri Kodama. As a young girl in Kagoshima, Japan, she was independent and adventurous. Kiyoko met and married U.S. Army soldier, Eugene Robert Rodrigues with whom she moved to America, proudly earned her U.S. citizenship and adopted the nickname “Shirley”. Kiyoko and Eugene had four children: Gene, Shirley, Patricia and Richard. Kiyoko raised her children in a home filled with love, laughter, a little bit of mischief and a whole lot of good cooking.
Later in her life, Kiyoko and Wayne Dailey were introduced to each other by mutual friends and fell deeply in love. Wayne and Kiyoko married in 1975 and lived together happily in Yuma until her passing.
Kiyoko’s independent streak carried through her entire life. She made her own way in the world by working for years in Yuma area restaurants, including Loo’s and Gene’s, where she adopted the younger staff and her regular customers as extended family.
Kiyoko is survived by her husband, Wayne, of Yuma and her four children: Gene Rodrigues (Becky) lives in Manhattan Beach, CA; Shirley Kodama lives in Yuma; Patti Upsavs (Ben) lives in San Francisco, CA; and Richard Dailey (Amy) lives in Redondo Beach, CA. She is also survived by her beloved grandson, Jason.
A viewing will be held at Johnson Mortuary from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Friday, July 20. Memorial services will take place in the chapel on Saturday, July 21 at 9:00 a.m. Following the services, all are invited to join the family in celebrating Kiyoko’s life from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Pivot Point Conference Center.
In lieu of sending flowers or gifts, the family requests that donations be made to two of Kiyoko’s favorite charities: City of Hope (cityofhope.org) or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).
