Aiko Nakahara

Aiko Nakahara 1924-2009 Aiko Nakahara passed away peacefully on Friday, January 16, 2009, at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose from complications of liver cancer. She was 84. Born June 11, 1924, Aiko worked in the family business, a flower nursery in Seattle, WA. She graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle and from Gregg College in Chicago. She accompanied her parents and five siblings to Minadoka Relocation Camp in Idaho. After World War II, Aiko lived in Japan and worked as a courtroom stenographer for the U.S. military. In Tokyo, Aiko met US Army veteran Peter Nakahara, then an interpreter at the war crimes trials. The two married in 1949 and settled in California, where they raised four children. While Peter practiced law, Aiko developed creative talents. An award-winning quilter, she sewed clothes with tailoring expertise. A competitive bridge player who amassed master points, she organized bridge games at the San Jose JACL. Aiko was preceded in death by: her husband, Peter; her father, Harutaro Umino; her mother, Yoneko Umino; and her older brother, Ichiro Umino. Aiko is survived by her four younger sisters: Fumiko Momii of Menlo Park, Hana Kawaguchi of San Francisco, Hideko Nakamura of Los Angeles, and Mitsuko Joubert of Seattle; and by her four children: Elizabeth of Oakland, William of Morgan Hill, Robert of Santa Clara, and David (Darlene) of Pleasanton. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations in Aiko's name to The Wesley Methodist Church, 566 N. 5th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 295-0367. Visitation will be held on Fri., 1/23/09 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in room F and funeral service will be held on Sat.,, 1/24/09 at 10:30 a.m. in Chapel of Roses. Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park; 300 Curtner Ave., San Jose, CA.