Setsuko "Setsu" Tsurumoto

1927 - 2014

Setsuko "Setsu" Tsurumoto
Mar. 6, 1927 - May 18, 2014
Resident of Hayward
Setsuko Tsurumoto died in her sleep Sunday morning May 18, 2014. With her were her husband, Ray and her three sons, Tim, Glen and Dan. She will be deeply missed by her family and many friends and acquaintances.
Born March 6, 1927 in Miyamotocho, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture to Seizaburo and Nami Kamata. Setsuko was the youngest of seven children. She was adopted at age four by a childless couple, Iyo Tomoda and his wife. She married Ray Reiji Tsurumoto on Jan. 12, 1953 in Tokyo, Japan.
Soon after her marriage to Ray in Jan. 1953, and the birth of their first child Tim in Tokyo, they settled in California. Soon after the birth of their second son, Glen, in 1955, they settled into their new home in Hayward, the city that remained their hometown for nearly sixty years. Setsu (as her new friends would call her) learned English quickly with the help of this group of housewives; among them her best friend Ruby Burchfield. She also became an American citizen and in what was probably her most rewarding effort she was finally able to pass her driver's test.
With the birth of her third son, Dan, her family was complete until Dan married Stephanie and they blessed her with two grandsons, Brandon and Kevin. Glen was later married and blessed her with three more grandsons, Eric, Ian and Maxwell.
Her dedication to the growth and education of her children was only matched by her fierce love for them and her love and support of her husband. Over the years, perhaps her greatest achievement was that she found Ray "as a diamond in the rough" and managed to create a man of grace and dignity.
In later years she was a founding member of the Hayward Lioness birthday group. She and Ray also started the Funabashi Hayward Sister City Committee for which they received special recognition from the Consul General of Japan in San Francisco.
She will always be remembered fondly and with love by all who knew her.
Memorial service will be held, Sun., June 8th, 3pm, at Buddhist Temple of Alameda, 2325 Pacific Ave., Alameda, CA 94501, Phone (510) 522-4243.