June Kasumi Mano

June Kasumi Mano passed away peacefully on Aug. 14, 2016, at the age of 92 in the loving care of Providence Hospital in Everett, Wash. She was born in Hilo, Hawaii on May 21, 1924. She was the third of five children born to Tetsuji and Akino Tamura of Hawaii.

June met her husband Mike through mutual friends, while Mike was attending a Veterans of the 442nd Reunion. She married Mike in 1970, then she and son Malcolm moved to Quincy, Wash., where Mike was a farmer. Together, June and Mike traveled to Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand as well as extensively throughout the United States in their travel trailer. They would often be found hunting for matsuke during the fall. For many years June returned to Hawaii to visit her family to quell her frequent bouts of homesickness during the winter months.

As a young girl, June longed to become a nurse but she was encouraged instead to become a seamstress by her parents. She was a talented and dedicated seamstress who often worked long into the nights, working on extra projects as well as working at her regular daytime shop. June learned her excellent cooking skills from her former mother-in-law, who was a professional caterer. June often could be found happily cooking a veritable banquet of food for any visitors lucky enough to be invited to her home. June, calling upon her sewing talents, taught at Big Bend Community College, as well as at Quincy High School. She was a student of the fine art of Japanese bunka and completed an enviable number of hand-crafted “paintings.” She also learned to be an avid gardener with a beautiful rose garden, a love she shared with her own father Tetsuji. She could always be seen providing all lucky neighbors and friends with the fruits of her gardening efforts, particularly the beautiful Japanese eggplant and cucumbers, from which she made the traditional Japanese pickled dishes that we will all miss.

June was preceded in death by her parents Tetsuji and Akino Tamura; brother Tadao; sisters Tsuyako Okuno, Joyce Tomoe Yoshikawa and Setsu Kim and husband Mike. June is survived by sons Steven Ito and Malcolm (Ruth) Mano and grandsons Gene and Ryan Mano as well as many nephews and nieces.

A funeral service will be held on Sept. 10, 2016 3:00 p.m. at the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Church 1427 S Main St, Seattle, WA 98144.