June Reiko Furuyama

June Reiko Furuyama, 92, of Pearl City, Hawaii, peacefully passed away on April 23, 2024, in Seattle, Washington. Born on June 26, 1931, in Hokkaido, Japan, Reiko was one of 4 children.

In 1958, she married her husband, a “kibei nisei” Japanese-American working for the U.S. Army at Camp Sendai in Japan. She moved to Hawaii in 1959 to join her husband and eventually settled in the quiet suburb of Pearl City on Oahu where they raised a family. Possessed with a sharp intelligence and a creative mind, she was a skilled seamstress, a talented Japanese cook, and was a student and teacher of the Urasenkei school of tea ceremony. She took joy in creating flower arrangements, keeping a tidy household, and was a master organizer!

In 2016, Reiko and Thomas moved from Hawaii to Vashon Island and later to Seattle to be closer to their daughter where the family was able to spend much time together.

Reiko was a dedicated mother to her only child, Linda Lee (Arthur), who would sew her school clothes and prom dresses and lovingly prepare “bento” school lunches. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Furuyama (2022). She will be missed beyond measure.

The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Nikkei Manor for their kind care and friendship of Reiko and Thomas and to the nurses and CNAs of Kin On Healthcare Center during Reiko’s last five months.

Reiko is survived by her brother Satoru Saito in Tokyo, Japan. Reiko will be interred beside her husband at Mililani Memorial Park and Mortuary.

- Care entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home -