Posts in category: centenarians

Valentine’s Day has a special meaning for Aaron (103) and Haruye (101) Okamoto. It’s their wedding anniversary. They’ve been happily married for over 75 years.  Both were born in Sacramento, Aaron in April 1916; and Haruye in June 1918.  They first set eyes on each other while interned at Tule Lake Camp.  “I thought he was a nice guy,” says Haruye.  Aaron adds, “She was wonderful.”

After getting married, they lived briefly in Reno.  The couple eventually found their way back to Sacramento. In 1948, he started at Campbell Soup and retired there at the age of 65. The Okamotos raised two boys and three girls – Calvin, Ronald, Joanne, Suzanne, and Dianne.

Looking back on her younger years, Haruye remembers growing up on a farm in rural Sacramento where her parents harvested tomatoes.  “We moved a lot as the seasons changed,” she says. “Planting new crops required moving around.” Haruye had three brothers and two sisters.  She attended grammar school in West Sacramento and went to high school in the Delta town of Clarksburg.  “As a kid, I didn’t go to the movie theatres very often because we lived in the country, far from town.”

Aaron was an accomplished Bunka embroidery artist until the age of 95.  He created beautiful artwork using the old Japanese technique called “nihon shishu,” which dates back more than 1000 years.  Several framed masterpieces hang on the walls of the family home. He is donating one of them to ACC’s “Celebrating Our Centenarians” silent auction.

When talking about their long marriage, Haruye said they rarely had the time to go on family vacations.  They’ve had many happy years together, enjoying time with their friends and family.  Today, the extended Okamoto family also includes two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Audrey Ah Tye was born in Canton in November 1916.  But you wouldn’t know it after having a conversation with her.  She is engaging, has a wonderful spirit about her, and a great attitude about aging.  Village life in China was okay.  There was no running water in the house so they had to walk to the village well.  

She came to the U.S. when she was six years old. Her family farmed plums, tomatoes, and asparagus in rural West Sacramento.  She describes herself as “a farmer’s daughter,” doing any job that her father asked her to do.  Audrey started planting tomato beds when she was very young.  Since no one had cars back then, she walked the three miles to school, cutting through neighbors’ fields, trying to avoid dogs and other animals.  When it rained, her father would take her to school in a horse and buggy.  “It was a bumpy ride, but not bad.”  Her teacher drove her into town to attend Chinese School and her father picked her up in a horse and buggy.  After high school, she went to Sacramento City College.

She met her husband, Raymond, through her cousin. “My mother interviewed him first.  She was very impressed that Raymond came from a big family – he was the 7th child of 15 children,” says Audrey.  It was a short courtship.  They met in the summer and by December, they were married. Raymond worked for Caltrans for almost 30 years.  They were married for 70 wonderful years before he passed away in 2012, at the age of 97.  

What’s her secret to a long life?  Audrey says, “maybe because I’ve worked hard all my life.”  Until the age of 95, she did her own gardening; sometimes she was outside all day tending the yard. She has been very independent and only recently surrendered her driving license at the age of 99. “I have macular degeneration now and can’t see that well anymore.  But I sure do miss driving…. I wish I could drive to Target and shop anytime I want.”  Despite vision problems, Audrey is content.  She goes to Chinese United Methodist Church every Sunday.  She enjoys time with her children, Michelle and Dale; her three grandchildren (Leslie, Tiffany, and Brandon) and two great-grandsons (Conner, Colin).

Identical twins Fannie and Annie Wong turned 103 this year!  They were born in 1916 in Red Bluff, to a family of 14 children.  As young girls, they once performed on a local radio station, playing their guitars. “The sisters were full of spunk and mischief,” says Fannie’s daughter, Valerie.  They took exams for each other and switched places in classes – and never got caught.

After graduating from Red Bluff High School in the 1930s, they both moved to Sacramento.  They were skilled athletes in swimming and tennis.  In the 1950s and 1960s, the twins spent many hours at Iceland Rink in north Sacramento.  They even attempted to try out for the Ice Capades.  For over 40 years, they met for weekly lunches and shopping. Disagreements were settled by playing rock-paper-scissors.  Both sisters have fond memories of traveling with their families – to Hawaii, Asia and Europe. At the age of 98, Fannie swam with stingrays with her grandchildren in Mexico!  The twins even went down the same path when it came to their families.  They both married men in the grocery business.

While working at Frank Fat’s as a waitress, Fannie met Gene Wong. “Gene heard about a new waitress at Frank Fat’s and went there to check her out,” Fannie says with a smile.  They married at the courthouse in 1943. While Gene was proudly serving with the 407 Air Service Squadron as a member of the Flying Tigers during WWII, Fannie lived in Penryn with his parents.  After the war, Gene, his sister and four brothers would go on to start the Bel Air Supermarkets.  During this time, Gene and Fannie raised four children – Ginger, Valerie, Gary and Gayle.  Fannie has seven grandchildren.  She enrolled at Sacramento State when she was 60 and got her Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences.  “We were amazed, but not really amazed,” says son Gary.  Fannie has lived a full life.  She has taken many classes at ACC Senior Services, including hula, calligraphy, and watercolor painting.

Annie married Kai Wong (no relation to Gene), who owned a mom and pop grocery store in North Sacramento called Sincere Market. They raised four children – Virgil, Jadine, Baldwin, and Raymond.  The family also includes five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

After retiring from the market in 1981, Annie volunteered her time at the Senior Paralegal Center and at the Senior Center as a food server.

Fannie and Annie take everything in stride these days.  Fannie says, “The worst part is my hearing. It’s not that good.”  Longevity runs in the family. Their oldest sister lived to age 99 and another sister, Pearl Jones, is 104.  

This past February, Frances Lueth Jaksich celebrated her 100th birthday with a big party at the Elks Lodge, complete with singing and ukulele performances.  The party theme was “You Are My Sunshine” which was quite appropriate as Frances “loves everyone, loves to have fun, and has an uplifting spirit.”

Frances is an original member of the YO Mamas knitting group, whose core mission is to provide clothing and gifts for local charities, including  Shriners Hospital for Children and Maryhouse, a shelter for homeless women and children.  She estimates she’s made several thousand tote bags.

She was born in 1919, the youngest of nine children, and grew up on a rural Sutter County ranch. France’s father, Henry, built the family home in the town of Sutter, just below the Sutter Buttes.  He bought an Aladdin Home through Sears Roebuck.  It was shipped by train to Marysville and delivered to their lot. Because he wasn’t much of a carpenter, it took him several years to assemble it. The house is still standing today.

When not helping the family farm their almond trees, she immersed herself in school sports – mostly playing catcher on baseball teams.  “Once a bat hit me, but I must be okay after all these years, because I still have a brain to do things.”  She recalls getting a special license at the age of 13 so she could drive her mother into town for medical appointments.   While working at the Capital National Bank, she caught the eye of a handsome dairy farmer, Jerry Jaksich.  They got married in Reno and were together for 61 years. They raised two wonderful children, Barbara and John, in the Pocket neighborhood.  

Frances says she has no secret to living this long, but says, “I believe in building friendships and treating people fairly.  Every part of my life has been great.” Her son John adds, “My mother has such a positive outlook on life. I’m sure she’ll live beyond 100 years.”  Frances was eager to celebrate her milestone birthday with a big party…and now she asks, when is the next party?

Born in March 1918 in the Del Paso area, Lorraine Nagae thinks that being 101 years old is “no big deal.”  She was raised on her parents’ 60-acre farm in the town of Perkins where they grew vegetables, mostly asparagus.  As a youngster, she hated to do the cooking and housework chores, so her father put her to work in the fields.  She recalls driving a tractor and riding a horse to haul crops for processing.  “There wasn’t much spare time to see a movie or have a hobby.  If you had a hobby, they’d put you to work.”  But Lorraine said she has no complaints about growing up on a farm.

She dropped out of high school but later went to night school to obtain her GED.  In 1940, she entered into an arranged marriage with Toshimitsu Nagae, a gardener by trade.  Shortly after their first son was born, the three of them were sent to Poston Internment Camp in Arizona.  Lorraine remembers “camp was ok, but there was no privacy”.  After camp, Lorraine worked for a while in San Francisco, learning to become a seamstress.  She later owned a successful storefront laundry on 5th Street in Sacramento, laundering and ironing shirts.  Over the years, Lorraine enjoyed many activities, including flower arranging, doing Japanese calligraphy, Bunka embroidery, and going to the casinos.  

She remains healthy and active and walks on her own. “If I used a cane, I would just trip on it.”  Her longevity might have something to do with not eating much junk food and inheriting good genes – her grandfather also lived to 101.  “I’m very aware that I’m the only sibling in my family to reach this age.  It’s sad to know that so many of my relatives and friends are no longer here.  And I’ve noticed how expensive things have gotten – like a loaf of bread, gas for the car,” she adds.

She has a positive “can do” attitude about life and is happy that her four children have achieved their own success.  Today, she loves spending time with her three grandsons and five great-grandchildren.

Nai Chin “Nelson” Koo, aged 100, was born in Zhejiang Province, China.  His father was a medical doctor in a private clinic. Nelson fled to Shanghai to escape the advancing Japanese armies and to further his studies.  He studied agriculture in college and became an expert in tea production.    

After college, he moved to Fujian Province. He got married and in 1945.  Fleeing the Communists, he moved his family to Taipei to work for the Taiwan Ministry of Economics Affairs.  

In the 1970’s, the United Nations and Taiwan’s government sent Nelson to Bolivia to head up the development of tea plantations and other crops like pineapple.  The original team consisted of five experts.  When the project concluded almost 13 years later, over 70 subject-matter experts had worked on the project.  During this time, Nelson’s family lived in La Paz, Bolivia. “I took a one month crash course in Spanish before we moved to Bolivia.”

After his retirement, he lived in Atlanta, Georgia with his son for over 27 years. He now lives in Orangevale with his daughter, Teacy Koo.  Although Nelson says his only hobby is working, his daughter says he loves to sing Chinese opera.  What’s his secret to a long life?  “I eat, sleep, rest, work hard, and help others.  I’m happy everyday, all the time.”  Sounds like a wise philosophy to live by.

Ai Tanaka carries herself with the same grace as she did when she performed traditional Japanese dance in her youth.

She was born in Loomis, CA, in November 1918. Her family returned to Japan to take care of her grandparents. Her father had a fish farm there. She worked for the telephone company. 

Ai longed to return to her birthplace in Loomis, but the Asian Exclusion Act of 1924 prevented this. When she was 18, she finally returned to the U.S. by ship. “I was sick the whole time,” she says. 

The purpose of the trip was to meet her future husband, Mitsuo Tanaka, a farm laborer. “I picked him myself,” she said but most likely the marriage was arranged by her father who had many friends in the U.S. 

The Tanakas had three daughters – Carole, Judy and Rory. During World War II, they were sent to Camp Amache in the southeastern part of Colorado.  “Living in the camp was okay.  I was busy taking care of the kids.”  

After the war, Ai and her family returned to Sacramento. They slept on cots at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento located on O Street until they could find permanent housing. They eventually settled into a home in the Hollywood Park neighborhood.  

Ai’s husband found work as a projectionist, and she continued being a homemaker.  Her daughter Judy Miyao admires her mother’s many talents. “Over the years, she honed her skills in flower arranging and doing traditional Japanese dancing,” she says.

Ai has been blessed with a large, extended family. Per her count, she has maybe 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.  Laughing, she says, “I don’t know anymore. There are too many to count!” 

Emiko Nakano grew up in Isleton, the second oldest of ten children. Her parents sent her older sister back to Japan to be raised by her grandparents, effectively making Emiko the oldest child in America. Her dad was a farmer, and eventually became a foreman who managed migrant workers.

During Emiko’s youth, the schools she attended were racially segregated. Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese students were sent to “Oriental School” until they reached high school. Emiko was studious and well read. In 1938, Emiko graduated from Rio Vista High School and had her sights on UC Berkeley. She had excellent grades and lots of ambition but could not physically travel to Sacramento or the Bay Area to take the entrance exam due to limited transportation.

Joan of Arc was her hero,  so much so that she adopted “Joan” as her middle name. Emiko’s aspiration to be strong and brave would eventually serve her well during World War II when her family was sent to an internment camp.

Emiko met Mario Masaharu Nakano through a church friend. They got married and had their first child, Tamaye. Then the war broke out, and Emiko’s family and her parents were sent to Tule Lake internment camp. She spent four years there where she gave birth to their second child, Mario Jr.

Like the 120,000 other Japanese sent to internment camps, Emiko led an austere life. They had to deal with cramped living quarters constantly and faced uncertainty about their future.

After the war was over, the Nakano family moved to Hunters Point and later to the Richmond Housing Project in Richmond, CA. Mario Sr. bought Berkeley Bait Shop in the late 1940s. It was a grueling business: The shop opened at 3:00 am to serve fishermen stocking up for their day’s expeditions. Emiko worked long hours while raising their growing family which now had four children: Tamaye, Mario, Steven, and Julie. Today, Emiko has six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.