ALLIE UYEHARA

UYEHARA ALLIE MARIE UMSTED UYEHARA Allie Marie Umsted Uyehara (formerly of Silver Spring, MD) died at her daughter's home in Wheeling, WV on February 5, 2019. Allie Marie died from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), after a 10-year battle. She bravely endured this disease which progressively paralyzed most of her muscles; she donated her brain to the Mayo Clinic for research. She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Cecil, her daughter, Vera (Chuck Wood), her son, Geoffrey, sister-in-law Leonor, five nieces and nephews, and a large international community of students of ikebana - Japanese flower arranging. Allie Marie was born in Hawthrone, CA to Lennea S Berg Umsted and Raymond Ver Umsted on May 30, 1926. A year later they moved to Chinook, Montana, where Allie grew up to be a true Montanan. After graduation from the University of Minnesota, Allie taught six students in a one-room school in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana. This is where she killed her first rattlesnake. Allie and Cecil were married on December 29, 1950 at the Alpha Chi Omega music sorority at the University of Minnesota. In September 1951, Cecil accepted a position at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Their daughter, Vera, was born there. The capitol city became their career and family center for many years. In 1955, the family travelled to Tokyo where their son, Geoffrey, was born in June 1955. In Japan, Allie studied ikebana, Japanese flower arranging; she earned teaching certificates in the Sogetsu School and the Saga Koryu School, and became an officer in the nascent Ikebana International organization. Allie founded three chapters of Ikebana International, in Chinook, MT, Boston, MA, and Dayton, OH. In 1969, Cecil took a job with AID, and they began a great adventure in wonderful Afghanistan. In Kabul, Allie taught ikebana to Americans, Afghans, and members of the diplomatic corps, and finalized her book, Ten Keys to Japanese Flower Arranging, which was published in 1975. Between 1986 and 1990, Allie wrote a weekly column "Washington Chronicle" for her hometown Montana newspaper, the Chinook Opinion. These articles reflected and interpreted the current events in Washington, DC with a liberal slant, and were received in Chinook with consternation. In 2006, Allie and Cecil visited Japan for the 9th World Convention of Ikebana International, where Allie attended a reunion of long-time members, and was invited to a small dinner given by Princess Takamado, the honorary president of the organization. She was invited to meet Empress Michiko, wife of the Emperor of Japan. Allie Uyehara was a tireless promoter of Japanese flower arranging, and a wonderful wife and mother who will always be missed by her husband, Cecil, and her children Vera and Geof. A memorial service will be held at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, MD on Friday, April 12, 2019, at 11 a.m. Donations in memory of Allie Marie Uyehara may be sent to CurePSP.org (donate online) or The Ellen Gordon Allen Memorial Fund of the Washington, DC Chapter #1 of Ikebana International, 6217 Thornwood Drive, Alexandria, VA 23310, or Valley Hospice, 10686 State Route 150, Rayland, OH 43943. Congress in Washington, DC. Their daughter, Vera, was born there. The capitol city became their career and family center for many years. In 1955, the family travelled to Tokyo where their son, Geoffrey, was born in June 1955. In Japan, Allie studied ikebana, Japanese flower arranging; she earned teaching certificates in the Sogetsu School and the Saga Koryu School, and became an officer in the nascent Ikebana International organization. Allie founded three chapters of Ikebana International, in Chinook, MT, Boston, MA, and Dayton, OH. In 1969, Cecil took a job with AID, and they began a great adventure in wonderful Afghanistan. In Kabul, Allie taught ikebana to Americans, Afghans, and members of the diplomatic corps, and finalized her book, Ten Keys to Japanese Flower Arranging, which was published in 1975. Between 1986 and 1990, Allie wrote a weekly column "Washington Chronicle" for her hometown Montana newspaper, the Chinook Opinion. These articles reflected and interpreted the current events in Washington, DC with a liberal slant, and were received in Chinook with consternation. In 2006, Allie and Cecil visited Japan for the 9th World Convention of Ikebana International, where Allie attended a reunion of long-time members, and was invited to a small dinner given by Princess Takamado, the honorary president of the organization. She was invited to meet Empress Michiko, wife of the Emperor of Japan. Allie Uyehara was a tireless promoter of Japanese flower arranging, and a wonderful wife and mother who will always be missed by her husband, Cecil, and her children Vera and Geof. A memorial service will be held at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, MD on Friday, April 12, 2019, at 11 a.m. Donations in memory of Allie Marie Uyehara may be sent to CurePSP.org (donate online) or The Ellen Gordon Allen Memorial Fund of the Washington, DC Chapter #1 of Ikebana International, 6217 Thornwood Drive, Alexandria, VA 23310, or Valley Hospice, 10686 State Route 150, Rayland, OH 43943.