Kathleen Mary NOGUCHI

NOGUCHI, Kathleen Mary Passed away on December 19, 2017, at age 69. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Naohiko Noguchi; children Kiyomi (Skip Perkins), Keidi, Kenichi (Rory), Toshio, and Tadashi (Erin Miller); grandchildren Ivy, Ralph, Spencer, Mikio, Franchesca, and Hiroki; and her sister, Patty Levenberg (Steven). She is predeceased by her parents, Robert and Elizabeth Frost, and her sister Judy Frost. Kathie was born in Oakland in 1948 and graduated from Pleasant Hill High School after spending her junior year as an exchange student in Concepción, Chile. She attended UC Santa Cruz, studied in Madrid, Spain, and graduated with a degree in Spanish Literature. Kathie taught in San Francisco for two years before raising her five children in Sebastopol, where she lived for 40 years. She taught at Hillcrest Elementary in Sebastopol then at Lincoln Elementary in Santa Rosa, where she helped organize an annual bird festival, even after retiring from teaching several years ago. She especially loved teaching second grade. She was a longtime drummer and board member with Sonoma County Taiko, and square danced with the Redwood Rainbows. Kathie loved quilting, gardening, birdwatching, hiking, camping, and reading books with her book club and to her grandkids. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 20 at 1 p.m. at the Community Church of Sebastopol. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, where Kathie was a docent.