Yoshie Armistead

Yoshie Murase Armistead left us peacefully in her sleep on April 4, 2011 after a long battle with cancer. She was born August 16, 1929 in Yokohama, Japan to her parents, Zentaro and Hon (Suzuki) Murase. She grew up with three sisters and four brothers.

As an excellent student she was the fastest in her class at using her Soroban (Japanese Abacus). After World War 2, Yoshie got a job at a newspaper company, where she was a bicycle messenger. She learned to speak English as a maid for an American family living in Japan. In 1963, a mutual friend introduced Sidney to Yoshie while he was stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station. Their first date was a long drive to Tachikawa, where they had coffee and tea. After that they dated just about every day. They knew they were a perfect match, and on March 23, 1965 they were married at the American Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. The first 2 years of their marriage, they lived in Port Hueneme, CA. In 1967 they moved to Anchorage where they spent the rest of their lives together. Yoshie loved to knit and sew. She knit Sidney his first pair of socks while living in Japan. She was also a vociferous reader. She had a large collection of Japanese books, which she read over and over again. She enjoyed life very much, and was a friendly & generous person. In 1978, it was discovered she had lung cancer and had surgery to remove the top lobe of her lung. 21 years later, in 2002, cancer was found once more and she survived 9 more years having 2 long remissions.

She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Sidney G. Armistead of Anchorage; 2 sisters, Kuniko Hasagawa and Yasuko Katsumata of Japan as well as many nieces and nephews.

Graveside services will be on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 1:30 PM at Ft. Richardson National Cemetery. Everyone will meet at the main gate by 1:15 PM for MP escort to the cemetery.

Arrangements by Alaskan Heritage Memorial Chapel of Anchorage.