Michiko Kawasaki Stultz

I used to believe if my mother lived into old age, that when she died, I would be sad, and I'd take it in stride. Not feel grief like losing her while in college or high school, or eleven years old as she was when her mother died, or if I'd been five years old and still a little boy. I was wrong.

My mother died at 5:00AM on Friday, July 16. My sister phoned me a few minutes later, but I was already awake, 250 miles away. That afternoon, sitting at the kitchen table in my parents' house, I wrote this obituary.

my mother with me, 1956, from the Syracuse Herald-Journal

Michiko Kawasaki Stultz passed away peacefully at home just before dawn Friday morning. Her husband of 66 years, Ted, held her hand as she took her last breath.

 Born in Ibaraki-ken, Japan, the middle of three sisters, Michiko grew up in difficult circumstances during and after World War II. She met her future husband, Theodore R. Stultz, in a Tokyo café where she was a waitress and he was a customer, a U.S. Marine stationed at nearby Camp McNair. Their courtship was frowned on by her family, but Ted left Japan and his tour of duty with the promise that he’d return for her, and as soon as it could be arranged, he did. Upon their arrival in the United States as a married couple, she was warmly embraced by his family, and in her waning years increasingly expressed her deep gratitude to her husband for rescuing her from the harshness of postwar Japan, and giving her such a wonderful life here in America. Eventually, she and her family reconciled and maintained a close relationship from half a world away. She returned to Japan for many visits, and her children benefited from their Japanese heritage, but her life was in America. Everyone who came felt welcome in her house.

 Along with her husband, Michiko leaves behind three half sisters and relatives in Japan, and all five of her children with Ted; Scott A. Stultz, Naomi Canale, Cynthia M. Stultz, Gregory O. Stultz, and Jennifer Metz, with their partners and spouses, twelve grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She was especially grateful to her doctor, William P. Berkery, MD, without whose loving care her life would have ended years ago. We and the many other family members and friends whose lives she touched will remember her for her generosity, wonderful cooking, impeccable housekeeping, tireless work ethic, colorful personality, and indomitable spirit. She was known for her unbeatable Christmas cookies and award winning apple pie, and everyone who met her knew her beautiful smile.  We already miss her warmth, laughter, and that smile that lit up the darkest of days.

my mother in later but still healthy years