Yuriko Hanamoto

Yuriko Hanamoto died of natural causes at age 96 in February 2022. Born Yuriko Kakiuchi in Sacramento in 1926, she spent her high school years incarcerated at the Minidoka concentration/ relocation camp in Idaho. Like many families of Japanese descent on the West Coast during WW2, Yuriko and her family spent most of the war in camp. After their release she moved to San Francisco where she went to work for the US Social Security Department. Yuriko married Asa Hanamoto in 1950 and lived in San Francisco until moving to Mill Valley in 1954. As a long-time Mill Valley resident she raised her family and kept their home there until her passing. Yuriko is survived by her two sons Mark and Gary, and Anna Sohlberg as the daughter she never had. Anna was a Swedish exchange student who became an extended family member after her stay with the Hanamoto family 50 years ago, and they remained very close over the years. Yuriko is also survived by her granddaughters Caitlyn and Katy, and several greatgrandchildren.

Asa, her beloved husband, preceded her in death in 2015.

Yuriko happily worked at Tamalpais Elementary

School in the library, reveling in helping children enjoy reading. She spent many years as an avid tennis player, world traveler, and consummate gardener. An excellent cook and gracious hostess, she loved to welcome large groups of family and friends to her home, and her New Year’s Day feasts were legendary. Although family and friends were her joy, she also enjoyed her card games and trips to the casino. Enjoying life was her passion.

Appreciation of art and beauty were always a significant influence in her life as she loved her painting, ceramics, quilting, and Ikebana. Yuriko also traveled to many if not most of the major art museums internationally, and she loved immersing herself in many different cultures.

A celebration of life will be held later this summer.