Marna Miura Fujimoto

Marna Fujimoto was an intelligent, nurturing, independent, creative and compassionate woman who lived a long, eventful life. After 98 years, she passed peacefully surrounded by family on Sunday, August 3, 2025 in Sacramento, California. She was the last Nisei (second Japanese American generation) in our large extended family.

The third child of five, Marna was born on October 5, 1926 to Oshiye and Archie Miura in the California town of Esparto. Sisters Homi and Kay preceded her, sister Mey and brother Jack followed.

She navigated through many challenges in life, including the Great Depression, separation from her father during World War II when he was relocated to the East Coast while the rest of the family was imprisoned in the Amache relocation camp in Colorado, the premature loss of her father after the war, working her way through college while helping to support her siblings and mother, and the complete loss of her eyesight later in life.

Through everything, Marna maintained her kind, gentle nature and persevered to create a rewarding life. She pursued her artistic interests through classes and illustrating her yearbook while attending Amache High School. Following the war, she graduated in 1948 from Hamline University’s nursing school in St. Paul, Minnesota and worked as a surgical registered nurse at San Francisco’s Stanford University Hospital throughout the 1950s. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute while working and continued to develop her artistic talents.

Marna was so proud of her career as a nurse, and it suited her love of learning and giving to others….qualities that were integral to her character.

She met Hiroo Fujimoto at a college Christmas party, and they were married in August 1957 in San Francisco after a long courtship. They welcomed daughter Jen in 1960 and son John in 1962, living in Berkeley, then San Leandro, California. Always dedicating herself fully to whatever she undertook, Marna was a devoted and loving mother, and she and Hiroo enriched their children’s lives through travel, education, the arts, wonderful family gatherings, and exploring the great outdoors.

In their golden years, Marna and Hiroo loved to travel the world, attend the symphony, hike the Sierra Nevada wilderness and visit their granddaughters Brianna and Niki, daughter-in-law Kristi, as well as John and Jen.

It is difficult for us to fathom the loss of this amazing person from our lives, but we are forever grateful to Marna for the many years she graced us with her loving, shining presence.