Obituary: Nobuko Fujioka Kato

Nobuko Fujioka Kato 1929 ~ 2005 God called his very finest back home when Nobuko Fujioka Kato passed away January 27, 2005 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia. Mom was born August 19, 1929 in Watsonville, CA to Katsu ("Kaku") and Masuyo Fujioka. She was raised planting and harvesting strawberries on her family's strawberry farm. She enjoyed trips to Avila beach sunbathing and digging for clams. During World War II, Mom was interned in a Japanese relocation camp in Poston, Arizona with her parents and five siblings. She survived being stung by a desert scorpion, found enjoyment in little things, excelled in sports, and passed the time playing baseball and basketball with her friend 'B-29' behind the camp's barbed-wire fences. After the war was over, "Nobi" graduated from Santa Maria Union High School in 1948, worked in San Francisco, and met and married Reverend Paul M. Kato in 1954 in San Anselmo, CA. They had four children in Sacramento, CA and moved to Salt Lake City, UT in 1966. Her husband was a minister for the Salt Lake Japanese Church of Christ for 11 years, and died in a tragic auto-pedestrian accident in 1979. Mom continued to support her family working as a microfilm clerk for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Utah and retired in 1987. She was active in her church as a Sunday School teacher, church clerk of sessions, and president of the Women's Agape group. Mom is survived by her older sister, Helen Honbo; her younger brother, Henry; her children, Stephen (Rennae) Kato, Jason Kato, Miriam Kato, Eunice (John) Griffin; and many nieces and nephews. Her grandchildren, Phillip, Melissa, and Isaac miss her very much. Mom is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Rev. Paul Kato; her brothers, Tom and Yasuto; and sister, Rosie. The family would like to thank the many members of the Japanese Church of Christ who visited Mom daily, encouraged her to eat and exercise, read scriptures, sang hymns, and prayed with her for the last two years after she was diagnosed with her illness. The family would also like to thank the caregivers at Neighborhood House, St. Mark's Hospital, Garden Terrace Rehabilitation, Elderly Manor Assisted Living, Cottonwood Hospital, CareSource Hospice, and Serenicare. A viewing will be held Thursday, February 3rd, from 10 a.m.-12 noon, followed by Nobi's funeral and reception at the Japanese Church of Christ, 268 West 100 South, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101. Mom will be buried next to her husband in Santa Maria, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Japanese Church of Christ. Sereni-Care, funeral directors.