Margaret Sugihara

Margaret S. Sugihara

January 9, 1919 ~ September 19, 2016

SOUTH OGDEN, UT - In the early morning hours of September 19, 2016, our mother and matriarch of our extended family passed away in her sleep at Mountain Ridge Assisted Living where she had been a resident for several years.

Margaret Sayo Sugihara was born on January 9, 1919 on Vashon Island, Washington to Sato Sato and Noboru Hoshi.  She, the fourth oldest of three sisters and two brothers, was raised on a twenty acre strawberry farm that also had greenhouses that grew some of the prettiest flowers in the state. The produce was sold in the Vashon area and Seattle, Washington. Mom's father passed away as a young man and Mom and her siblings were later raised with their new father, Kanitcha Tanaka, who proved to be a kind and gentle man. She graduated from Vashon High School, the class salutatorian, in 1936.

It was during a work trip to Seattle where she met her future husband, George Tetsuo Sugihara, also a young farmer who worked the land with his parents in the Seattle area.  He passed away in May of 2000. Mom and Dad were married in Tacoma, Washington in 1938 and moved to Puyallup, Washington, where they farmed the land with his parents and sold produce in the Seattle and Tacoma area.

During the early part of their lives in the late 1930's and early 1940's their sons, Gerry (deceased, 2014) and Victor were born. When WWII began they, along with their parents, siblings, and extended family were relocated to the Minidoka Relocation Center, Hunt, Idaho.  During their stay they managed to do gardening and keep in touch with the soil of their land.  Near the War's end Mom took care of her kids while their dad ventured out to find work and eventually landed in Utah finding work as a garage mechanic.  Mom and Dad, and Dad's parents and siblings settled in Ogden and Roy; others found homes in Los Angeles and Fresno, California.

Mom's parents and siblings returned to Vashon Island and Washington to resume farming and other occupations. During the time in Ogden while our family was being raised, annual trips to Vashon were taken during the summer time to be with the family in Washington and help with the many chores of farm life. In Ogden and Roy while the growing families were being raised, regular, frequent, and happy get-togethers for all occasions and holidays occurred. The huge gatherings at South Fork for barbeques and picnicking were favored moments during that period of time.

Early years may have been a struggle for Mom because of the times and growing family, but she managed, through strong will and dedication to both her husband and children to prevail, sometimes in the most adverse of circumstances when she looked to her Christian religion for support. Mom made our first home in Ogden in a bare wood floor apartment above a garage on Kiesel Avenue. She made our second home in another bare wood apartment above a pool hall on 25th Street. Finally, a house was purchased on 32nd Street that would be home for the duration. It was during that time that son Larry, daughter Gayle, and sons David and Philip were born.

Dad enjoyed hunting and fishing. During lengthy fishing excursions to places like Strawberry Reservoir, Lake Powell, and Bear Lake, pulling a 25 foot Fiberfoam boat, Mom was usually there to provide companionship, encouragement...and help clean fish!  She was a rugged individual who could withstand the cold wind, rain, and rocking boat without a whimper, yet be gentle, caring, and loving with her kids.

A lifetime hard worker who retired from Hill AFB, Mom with Dad owned and rented twelve houses along the Wasatch Front and land in other states.  Also, along with her husband, they ran a used car business while he managed stocks and other ventures before and after his retirement from Hill AFB. A favorite pastime of her's, especially in later life, were trips to Wendover with one or more of her kids or friends she made throughout her lengthy path of life.

Up until a slip and fall back in 2007 Mom was active in the rental and car business, and kept tabs and helped in the car business even beyond then. She kept her residence, along with Maggie Mae, her pet Llasa Apso, in Washington Terrace, in a house they built in 1969.  It was in late 2007 that she gave Maggie Mae to her oldest son and moved into the care of her children, grandchildren, and staff of Mountain Ridge Assisted Living. Though we will not experience her living presence again, she is at peace... a peace well deserved.  She leaves behind her children, many grandchildren, and great grandchildren that she loved so much.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 2 p.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd., with Pastor Robert “Bob” Nakaoka of the Ogden Japanese Christian Church presiding. Friends may visit with family on Saturday from 12 to 1:45 p.m. at the mortuary.  We ask, at Mom's earlier request and with our thanks, that there be no koden or offerings.

Interment, Lindquist’s Memorial Gardens of the Wasatch, 1718 Combe Rd., South Ogden, UT.