Nancee Iketani

Nancee Iketani, 89, died on October 17, 2020 in Los Angeles, Calif. Mother of 7, Sister to 13, Grandmother of 10, and Auntie to many. Nancee was born in Watsonville, Calif. and raised in the Bay Area. From ages 11 to 14 during World War II, she was interned with her family at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Delta, Utah. Always graceful, she was a model in her youth and met her equally dashing husband, Roy, at a JACL convention in San Francisco. They married in 1957 and she moved to Los Angeles, eventually settling in the San Gabriel Valley hamlet of Covina where she and Roy were active members of the community, helping build the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center, attending Sage Granada Park United Methodist Church, bowling in a Nisei league, and lending their time to support many of their children’s activities. After her children were of school age, Nancee capitalized on her keen ear for languages and began teaching English as a Second Language in the Charter Oak Unified School District. She loved music and dance and finally made her stage debut in her 70s in the 2003 production of “The Nisei Widows’ Club” at East West Players. After retirement, she continued to share her life experiences with young people as a docent and guide at the Japanese American National Museum.

She is survived by her devoted husband, her loving children, and numerous grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, as well as her sisters, Daisy, Elsie, and Juneko. No services will be held. In lieu of koden or flowers, the family suggests donations in Nancee’s memory to JANM (www.janm.org), Sage Granada Park UMC (www.sgpumc.org), or ESGVJCC (www.esgvjcc.org). We love you, Mom.