Lois Okita
May 9, 1926 — June 27, 2015
Obituary :
Lois M. Okita
May 9, 1926 – June 27, 2015
Lois was born on May 9, 1926 in Hood River Oregon to Suye “Sue” Uozo and Torajiro “Tom” Ogawa. She was the youngest of six children.
She was one of thousands of Japanese Americans in this country that were removed from their homes during WWII. She was 16 years old when her family was relocated to an internment camp in Tule Lake, CA where she lived for over a year in 1942 and 1943. After they were allowed to leave camp, racial tensions were high in the Northwest and she along with her Mother and sister Mary moved to Cleveland Ohio to live with her sister Kiyo where she finished High School in January 1945 at East High. After a couple of years they moved back to Hood River.
She was united in marriage to Yoshito Okita on February 15, 1958 at the First Christian Church in Portland and was married for 50 years until his passing on March 25, 2008. They raised two children, Rick and Ann.
She is survived by her beloved cat Nyra, son Richard and his wife Deanne, son-in-law Dennis McNally of Portland, one granddaughter Amanda, two sisters Kiyo Kamikawa of Vancouver, WA and June Masatani of Monterey, CA, one brother Masao Ogawa of Hood River and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband Yoshito in 2008, daughter Ann in 2012, her sisters Mary Itami in 2005 and Heide Nakamura on June 2 nd .
Final disposition will be in a niche next to her husband at the indoor columbarium at Rose City Cemetery.