May 2, 1925 – March 12, 2022

OKAMOTO TAKAHASHI, HANNAH was born in the small town of Onalaska, Washington where her father Seiji Okamoto worked as a tree topper and her mother Yone Katayama Okamoto was raising a growing family. They eventually worked their way down to Southern California where Hannah spent her childhood until at the age of 16, she and her family were bused to the Poston Concentration Camp in Yuma County Arizona. There, she served as a nurses’ aid until at the age of 18 she was allowed to leave the camp. She bravely boarded a train to Chicago where she worked and saved enough money to put a down payment on a house for her family. She met her husband Frank Takahashi at the First Baptist Church where they were married by Rev. Jitsuo Morikawa in 1948. Although a mother of 5, she was also a Campfire Girl leader, a classroom/school helper, pre-school treasurer, Chicago Botanic Garden docent, Democratic Party canvasser, and Chicago Lyric Opera docent.

Retirement moved Hannah and Frank to Napa, California where Hannah served as an Ombudsperson for senior care and Art Docent for the Napa public schools.

As the grandmother of seven, she spent quality time with her grandchildren, looking after them when needed, creating an Eden for them at her Napa residence which teemed with flowers and fruit trees, and providing plenty of spaces to play in and places to explore.

In 2010, Hannah moved to San Jose’s Japantown where she took many classes offered by the YuAiKai Senior Center and where she felt very welcomed. She enjoyed the community: the many Matsuri, the Chidori Band shows, her Qigong and memoir writing classes, and access to things Japanese.

In 2017, she moved into a retirement community in Los Altos.

She is pre-deceased by her husband, oldest son James, brothers Thomas, George, Frank, Vincent and sister Taye. She is survived by brothers Roy, Ben, and Paul and sister
Dorothy Nambu; her children – Frances, Joan Powers (Chuck), Robert (Lisa), Mary (Karl); loving grandchildren – Ian (Corinna), Jon (Laura), Catlin (Brian), Sienna, Bonnie (Tom),

Andrew, and Abby; and precious great-grandchildren Roman, Kaiden, Kailani, Keegan, Evelyn, and Aurora; and a slew of nieces, nephews and their children.

Hannah was a complex, kind, and gracious person.

In lieu of okoden, donations may be made to YuAiKai.org in memory of Hannah Takahashi.