Chieko McCune

1928 - 2023

Chieko McCune
January 21, 1928 - August 8, 2023
Sacramento, California - Chieko McCune died peacefully on August 8, 2023, in Rohnert Park, California. Born Chieko Shimoyama in Shiba Park, Tokyo, Japan to Torakichi and Kiku (Yokota) Shimoyama on January 21, 1928, she was the sixth of eight children.
At the age of 17, Chieko, along with her family endured the U.S. bombing raids of Tokyo, including "Operation Meetinghouse" (the most destructive bombing raid in human history). Miraculously the family was not seriously injured, and their home was spared-an unexploded firebomb was found lying next to the house after the raid-but her school and Buddhist temple were destroyed. Chieko was never able to return to high school.
Six years after the end of the war, she met a military man, Fred Allison, at Tachikawa Air Base. They were married by proxy in 1952, and Chieko made the Pacific crossing from Yokohama to Seattle by herself on the ship Hikawa Maru in 1953. She was the only person from her family to leave Japan. She maintained a lifelong relationship with her family in Japan communicating by letter frequently and was able to travel back to her homeland three times over the years to visit relatives.
Fred and Chieko lived in various places for the duration of his military career, including Soap Lake, Washington; Greenville, South Carolina; Sacramento; Honolulu and Wichita Falls, Texas, before settling back in Sacramento, having two children along the way. Fred and Chieko bought a home in a new neighborhood on Austin Street in Sacramento in 1965 where Chieko remained for 51 years. Fred passed away in 1980. Years later Chieko married William McCune and they stayed together until his death in 2008.
After her children started school, Chieko took her impressive culinary skills to the workplace. She worked as a sous chef for various restaurants and a nursing home.
Chieko dabbled in painting as a child but didn't pursue it into adulthood until she received a gift of paints and canvases in 1985. It was then, at the age of 57, that she took up the hobby again, and to the astonishment of her family and friends started churning out jaw-dropping painting after painting. She enrolled in art classes and joined the Highlands Artist Guild. She remained an active member for more than 20 years, creating life-long bonds with fellow Sacramento area artists. Chieko created dozens of extraordinary paintings, mostly watercolors, during this period, earning awards and ribbons and even selling some of her works.
Chieko is survived by her daughters, Mary and Rosalie; three grandchildren, Austen, Kiyomi and Brendan; one great-granddaughter, Thalia; and sisters-in-law and many nieces and nephews in Japan.
At Chieko's request, there will be no memorial service. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to the American Stroke Association in her memory.