OBITUARY: Suellen Umeko (Hayashi) Yoneda

Suellen Umeko (Hayashi) Yoneda

Feb. 10, 1926 – Dec. 29, 2022

We are deeply saddened to report that YONEDA, SUELLEN UMEKO (HAYASHI) passed away on Thursday, December 29th.
Suellen was known to her family and friends by various loving names such as “Sue”, “Mom”, “Mrs. Yoneda”, “Mrs. Y.” and especially her favorite, “Babun”.

Suellen was a kindergarten teacher at Hookena, Kona-Hawaii for many years. While there, she met and married T. Ted Yoneda, who also was a teacher at Hookena.

Every New Year’s Eve, her granddaughters and daughters would converge at the Yoneda house to learn “the art” of Japanese cuisine, Babun-style. And on New Year’s Day, friends and relatives would “pa’ina” at the Yoneda house, watching Bowl games and enjoying all the great food prepared the night before.

During many softball seasons, after every game, Ted’s entire Asahi softball team would meet at the Yoneda house. But mom never complained. And even though she never played a lot of softball growing up, she always attended every softball and baseball game her children and granddaughters participated in.

In 2016, at the “young age” of 90 and still working as a Yard Duty Supervisor at Kennedy Elementary School, the Stockton Record profiled mom on the front page of their newspaper. Her story was also featured on Good Day Sacramento, and on other various TV news channels.

Mom started her battle with cancer almost 20 years ago but battled Stage 4 cancer for five years. Throughout Kaiser’s Oncology Department, mom was known for her sunny disposition and as “the walking miracle”. We would like to thank Dr. Aye Soe and the entire Infusion staff at Stockton Kaiser for the exceptional care, support, and love they provided to our mother.

Suellen is survived by her husband, T. Ted Yoneda of Stockton, her daughters Maryam (David) Davis of Stockton, Jayne-Lei (David) Goad of Acampo, and Elane (Mark) McCarty of Ripon, and her son Theodore (Cheryl) Yoneda of Fairmont, WV. Granddaughters, Courtney (Grayland) Walter, Taylor Davis, Madison (Bill) Doyle, and Grandsons, Ezra and Issac Yoneda. Great grandchildren, Liam Aguilar, Apollo and Kiyomi Walter, and Holden and Aeriss Buchanan. Brothers, Susumu and Kenneth Hayashi of Hilo, HI and sister, Ruth Hayashi of Honolulu, HI.

She was preceded in death by her parents Tsurukichi and Hisayo (Kitayama) Hayashi, brothers Adrian Hayashi, Mark Hayashi, Etsuo Hayashi, Yoshi Hayashi, Stanley Hayashi, Larry Hayashi, and sister Kathleen Rowland.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, January 28 from 9:30 – 12:30 at Cherokee Memorial in Lodi. Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, February 11 at 11:00 at Calvary Church (2343 Country Club Blvd) in Stockton.