1917
Dorothy
2011
Dorothy Fusaye Yoshida
March 15, 1917 — December 19, 2011
Dorothy Fusaye Yoshida was born March 15th 1917 in Gresham, Oregon to Eijiro and Hamano Hara. The eldest of 10 children, she spent most of her early years helping her father on the family farm growing vegetables and berries. As a child, she attended Gresham elementary school where she had to learn to speak English as her parents only spoke Japanese and that was the only language she knew. She said that she enjoyed most of her grade school years and that her favorite subject was spelling. She was a very good speller and was usually picked first to be on a spelling team. Even at 94 years of age, if you asked her to spell a word, even a difficult word, she would spell the word fast and the majority of the time accurate just like she did in school.
Since her father only spoke Japanese, once she was able to speak English, she would accompany her father to stores or businesses and act as a translator for him. She enjoyed helping her father and the attention that he gave her. He would take her everywhere with him.
Just like a lot of families back then, the Hara family had a lot of children. Following Dorothy were her siblings Mechi, Fumi, Minoru, Kimi, George, Carrie, Jean and Mary spread out over 12 years. All of the children helped on the family farm in Gresham.
Dorothy eventually attended Gresham High school. Which she said was a good time and a sad time. She enjoyed the teachers and the friends that she made. But, as a sophomore she had to leave school. Her father had "arranged" for her to marry a man that she did not know. This was fairly common in those days. The parents would hire a "go between" a person that would find a potential husband or wife for their child. She was sad that her father would do this to her, but her father thought that this would be the best for her. So on April 26th 1934, at the age of 17, she married Masao Bud Yoshida.
They settled in the Montavilla area in Portland living with her husband's parents in a house that she would eventually live in for about 60 years. There would be a few years when they would not be living in the house for one reason or another but the majority of her life would be spent there. She said married life at the beginning was hard, as one can imagine. Having to marry a man you barely know and also having to live with his parents. She tried to make the best of being married but she was still sad that her life had changed so much.
In the late 1930's they rented out their house to another family and rented a house on NE Halsey Street so they could have land to farm. They moved from there to a new house on NE San Rafael that their landlords had built for them. During this time they had two children. In August of 1936 their first child Eugene was born, followed by their second son Edward in April of 1938. The family farmed the San Rafael land until 1942.
Because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan in December of 1941, the family as well as other families of Japanese descent living in the area did not know what was going to happen to them. She said that she was scared sometimes by the way some people looked at her. But she also said that there were people that came and gave them support.
Eventually the family was ordered by the US Government to report to a relocation center. They moved all of their belongings back to their home in Montavilla and sold their farm equipment and automobiles for pennies on the dollar. They trusted a neighbor to watch their home and belongings while they were gone. In May of 1942, they were sent with only what possessions they could carry, to their first relocation center which was the Portland Stockyards now called the Portland Expo Center. They stayed there until the following September. Then they were put aboard a train with the windows covered up so they could not see out and ended up in Hunt, Idaho at the Minadoka Relocation Center were they would call home for the next three years. She said that camp life was pretty boring but she kept herself busy with her children, teaching others how to crochet and delivering the mail for the block they lived in. After the war, they moved back to Portland to the house in Montavilla where they would live from then on.
She spent the following years raising her children and working at different jobs. She and Bud opened the Nisei Pool Parlor in Old Town Portland where she enjoyed talking to all of the customers. She worked as a housekeeper for a number of families. One of which was the Babson family. Ruth Babson and Dorothy became great friends and stayed in contact over several decades. Her next position was as a food packager for Kubla Khan where her job ended surprisingly when she found out she was pregnant with her third child Steven. It was a surprise because it had been 19 years since her last child was born. The last place she worked at was Forecaster Mfg. as a coat presser. The company closed in the mid 1970's and Dorothy began her retirement years.
Although she never learned to drive a car, (she tried but it didn't work out) she loved taking the bus all over Portland to the different malls and downtown to window shop. She loved walking, car rides, crocheting, slots machines, going to the dog races, listening to the Portland Trailblazers on the radio (until it made her too nervous and then she quit listening) and traveling. She did not get the chance to travel much until later in her retirement but she was able to visit Hawaii, most all of the western states, Canada and Mexico. She loved the spending time on the Oregon coast and trips to the Mt. Hood forest hunting for mushrooms or just riding in the car to anywhere. She was thankful that she was able take a trip to Reno, Nevada with her sisters.
She was glad that at her age, she was still able to keep in contact with her siblings. She enjoyed the visits and the talks on the phone and receiving Christmas cards from them and their families.
Over the years she made a lot of nice friends and developed many lifelong relationships. She treasured her closest friends especially Betty Eki whom she has known for many decades. Her family was foremost to her but her friends were a very important part of her life.
Her and Bud were married for 58 years before his passing in 1992. Even though it was an "arranged" marriage I believe that my mom and dad grew to care about each other. She always thought of her family first like most mothers do. During her children's' childhood she would always buy clothing or toys for them. She hardly ever returned from her bus trips downtown or to the malls without bringing back something for them even though money was not plentiful. She was very supportive of any hobby or sports that her children were interested in and would try to attend as many activities that they participated in as she could.
She was a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend and a wife. She was a Mother of 3 children, a Mother-in-law of 2, a Grandmother to 7 children, a Great Grandmother to 8 children and a Great Great Grandmother to 5 children and loved them all.
I would like to thank the Oregon Buddhist Church Women's Clubs, the volunteers with the Meal on Wheels program, the Ikoi No Kai lunch program, friends and family for their support, with special thanks to Jeff Yoshida and the caring people at Providence Hospital and Providence Hospice who were so kind to our mom. Special thanks to Yan who was so helpful and went above and beyond her calling as a volunteer to provide comfort and friendship to my mother. I'm sure I missed thanking a lot people and programs and to those I also want to say thank you.
There is so much more to say about her but this is where it ends for now.
Love you Mom. Good night.
Since her father only spoke Japanese, once she was able to speak English, she would accompany her father to stores or businesses and act as a translator for him. She enjoyed helping her father and the attention that he gave her. He would take her everywhere with him.
Just like a lot of families back then, the Hara family had a lot of children. Following Dorothy were her siblings Mechi, Fumi, Minoru, Kimi, George, Carrie, Jean and Mary spread out over 12 years. All of the children helped on the family farm in Gresham.
Dorothy eventually attended Gresham High school. Which she said was a good time and a sad time. She enjoyed the teachers and the friends that she made. But, as a sophomore she had to leave school. Her father had "arranged" for her to marry a man that she did not know. This was fairly common in those days. The parents would hire a "go between" a person that would find a potential husband or wife for their child. She was sad that her father would do this to her, but her father thought that this would be the best for her. So on April 26th 1934, at the age of 17, she married Masao Bud Yoshida.
They settled in the Montavilla area in Portland living with her husband's parents in a house that she would eventually live in for about 60 years. There would be a few years when they would not be living in the house for one reason or another but the majority of her life would be spent there. She said married life at the beginning was hard, as one can imagine. Having to marry a man you barely know and also having to live with his parents. She tried to make the best of being married but she was still sad that her life had changed so much.
In the late 1930's they rented out their house to another family and rented a house on NE Halsey Street so they could have land to farm. They moved from there to a new house on NE San Rafael that their landlords had built for them. During this time they had two children. In August of 1936 their first child Eugene was born, followed by their second son Edward in April of 1938. The family farmed the San Rafael land until 1942.
Because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan in December of 1941, the family as well as other families of Japanese descent living in the area did not know what was going to happen to them. She said that she was scared sometimes by the way some people looked at her. But she also said that there were people that came and gave them support.
Eventually the family was ordered by the US Government to report to a relocation center. They moved all of their belongings back to their home in Montavilla and sold their farm equipment and automobiles for pennies on the dollar. They trusted a neighbor to watch their home and belongings while they were gone. In May of 1942, they were sent with only what possessions they could carry, to their first relocation center which was the Portland Stockyards now called the Portland Expo Center. They stayed there until the following September. Then they were put aboard a train with the windows covered up so they could not see out and ended up in Hunt, Idaho at the Minadoka Relocation Center were they would call home for the next three years. She said that camp life was pretty boring but she kept herself busy with her children, teaching others how to crochet and delivering the mail for the block they lived in. After the war, they moved back to Portland to the house in Montavilla where they would live from then on.
She spent the following years raising her children and working at different jobs. She and Bud opened the Nisei Pool Parlor in Old Town Portland where she enjoyed talking to all of the customers. She worked as a housekeeper for a number of families. One of which was the Babson family. Ruth Babson and Dorothy became great friends and stayed in contact over several decades. Her next position was as a food packager for Kubla Khan where her job ended surprisingly when she found out she was pregnant with her third child Steven. It was a surprise because it had been 19 years since her last child was born. The last place she worked at was Forecaster Mfg. as a coat presser. The company closed in the mid 1970's and Dorothy began her retirement years.
Although she never learned to drive a car, (she tried but it didn't work out) she loved taking the bus all over Portland to the different malls and downtown to window shop. She loved walking, car rides, crocheting, slots machines, going to the dog races, listening to the Portland Trailblazers on the radio (until it made her too nervous and then she quit listening) and traveling. She did not get the chance to travel much until later in her retirement but she was able to visit Hawaii, most all of the western states, Canada and Mexico. She loved the spending time on the Oregon coast and trips to the Mt. Hood forest hunting for mushrooms or just riding in the car to anywhere. She was thankful that she was able take a trip to Reno, Nevada with her sisters.
She was glad that at her age, she was still able to keep in contact with her siblings. She enjoyed the visits and the talks on the phone and receiving Christmas cards from them and their families.
Over the years she made a lot of nice friends and developed many lifelong relationships. She treasured her closest friends especially Betty Eki whom she has known for many decades. Her family was foremost to her but her friends were a very important part of her life.
Her and Bud were married for 58 years before his passing in 1992. Even though it was an "arranged" marriage I believe that my mom and dad grew to care about each other. She always thought of her family first like most mothers do. During her children's' childhood she would always buy clothing or toys for them. She hardly ever returned from her bus trips downtown or to the malls without bringing back something for them even though money was not plentiful. She was very supportive of any hobby or sports that her children were interested in and would try to attend as many activities that they participated in as she could.
She was a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend and a wife. She was a Mother of 3 children, a Mother-in-law of 2, a Grandmother to 7 children, a Great Grandmother to 8 children and a Great Great Grandmother to 5 children and loved them all.
I would like to thank the Oregon Buddhist Church Women's Clubs, the volunteers with the Meal on Wheels program, the Ikoi No Kai lunch program, friends and family for their support, with special thanks to Jeff Yoshida and the caring people at Providence Hospital and Providence Hospice who were so kind to our mom. Special thanks to Yan who was so helpful and went above and beyond her calling as a volunteer to provide comfort and friendship to my mother. I'm sure I missed thanking a lot people and programs and to those I also want to say thank you.
There is so much more to say about her but this is where it ends for now.
Love you Mom. Good night.
Visitation
Rose City Funeral Home
5625 Northeast Fremont Street
Portland
,
OR
US
97213-1754
Thursday, December 22, 2011, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Service
Pending
Cemetery
Private
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