Irene Michiko Yamamoto

Irene Michiko Yamamoto
Feb. 19, 1937 – Nov. 11, 2020

Irene Michiko Yamamoto, born Feb. 19, 1937, passed away on Nov. 11, 2020. She was 83 years old.
Irene was born in Los Angeles, the second of four children to Grace Sakiyo (Kaguni) Yamamoto and Lawrence Mineo Yamamoto. During World War II, she was incarcerated with her family in Gila River, Ariz. They eventually returned to Los Angeles, where Irene attended Theodore Roosevelt High School and UCLA. She spent most of her career as a commercial artist in the advertising industry.

Irene loved to travel, in recent years visiting Japan, Iceland, Sweden, and Peru with her niece, Diane, and grandnephew, Kenji. She fostered a lifelong love of drawing and liked to learn different languages. When she was younger she played the shakuhachi flute and in later years joined a taiko drumming group. She also tutored elementary school children and worked out with friends at a local gym. She was a member of the Tenrikyo Church in Los Angeles.

She is predeceased by her parents and her brother, Ray Yamamoto, and is survived by brother Don Yamamoto (Setsuko), sister Ellen Mizota (Don), six nieces and nephews, and four grand nieces and nephews. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a live streaming memorial celebration will be held online. An announcement will be made to family and friends.