Sanae Ueno Ward

09/22/1934 - 08/08/2025

Sanae Ueno Ward died on August 8, 2025 at the age of 90. She was born in a small town in rural Japan, the youngest of five sisters. She moved to Yokohama in the mid 1950s, working on the US Naval airbase in Atsugi where she met and wed Lieutenant Donald Ward. They were soon transferred to Kingsville, Texas in 1958 before settling in the DC area in 1960 where they would go on to raise their four children. Sanae was active in the local Japanese-American community, often hosting international visitor groups before starting a career as a tour guide showing visitors from Japan the highlights of her adopted home. She studied koto (a traditional Japanese harp), played a sharp game of tennis and was a top-notch bridge player, always a sought-after partner at her retirement home. Her later years were marked by a deep sense of gratitude for what she had experienced in life, and she was always generous in expressing thanks to all those around her.
Sanae is survived by two daughters, JoAnn Ward (Christopher Graves) of Washington, DC, Kimm Ward (Eric Nyman) of Bend, Oregon; two sons, Robert Ward (Marcia Yonemoto) of Boulder, Colorado, Steven Ward of Myersville, Maryland; three granddaughters, Alena Ward of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Sophie and Julia Graves of Brooklyn, New York; three grandsons, Julian Ward of Boulder, Colorado, Daniel and Ryan Ward of Myersville, Maryland; sister Sawako Miyahara of Saga, Japan and cousin Kunio Francis Tanabe of Bethesda, Maryland.
A private memorial service will take place in the spring when her beloved cherry blossoms are in full bloom.