March 30, 1920 – April 3, 2022
Hisayo (Saito) Furuyama, mother, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away suddenly on April 3, 2022, three days after her 102nd birthday.
She was born to Minokichi and Nami Saito in Hanna, Wyoming, on March 31, 1920. She was the third of 12 children.
Hisayo loved spending her time creatively with her hands. She was very skilled in knitting, crocheting, origami and other crafts. She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. For many years, she enjoyed volunteering at the then-Keiro convalescent care facility. She loved to eat and wanted to make sure others also had food to eat, and so she rode the bus from Little Tokyo to East Los Angeles to participate for several years in the distribution of food through Evergreen Baptist Church’s “Meals on Wheels” program.
She was married to Tomigi Furuyama (1939 to 1967), and is survived by her sisters, Yoshiko Saito and Misao Tanno in Japan. Her children are Chiyeko Sutter, Grace Umemoto (predeceased), Kenkichi Furuyama, Emiko Sherman and Jim Furuyama. Hisayo also has 11 wonderful grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at a future date.