Aiko Alice Miyake went to be with her Lord and Savior, peacefully on March 31, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif. at age 95. Born on September 16, 1927, in Santa Maria, Calif., to Leo Kamezo and Yoshi Suzuki, who emigrated from Niigata, Japan in 1916. Grew up on a farm in Moneta, Calif., with siblings Kazie, Kiyo, Jane, Roy, and June. Forcibly detained during WWII in Tulare, Calif., Gila, Ariz., Tule Lake, Calif. and finally Princeton, N.J. After the war, Alice returned to Gardena, attended business school while helping her family get resettled. In 1952, she married Perry Miyake of Venice, Calif.
Raised sons Perry Jr. and Ron in Mar Vista, both sons graduating from Venice High School as their father did in June 1942 (in absentia), and after completing her interrupted high school education at Venice High Adult School, became a housewife and mother, beautician, secretary then office manager at the FAA and Department of Defense. After her son Ron returned from a mission trip to Japan in 1981, Alice accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and returned to the church her father was a founding member of as a teenager, Gardena Valley Baptist Church, where she was baptized along with her sister Kazie and husband Perry in 1983. In 1987, Alice and Perry renewed their marriage vows and they enjoyed many activities at GVBC. After retiring from the U.S. Postal Service, Perry died in 2015. Alice lived in their Mar Vista home, joining older son Perry and his wife Jan at Venice Free Methodist Church until she moved into Atherton Baptist Home in 2019.
She is survived by sons, Perry (Jan) and Ron (Carol); granddaughters, Natalie (Omar) Zavala and Katie (Jonathan) Khuu; brothers, Kiyo and Roy (Terri) Suzuki; sisters, Jane Shimatsu and June Hirai; and many nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, July 28, at 11 a.m. at Venice Free Methodist Church, 4871 S. Centinela Ave, LA 90066, with Rev. James Miyabe and Rev. Ron Miyake officiating. No flowers, casual attire. Parking available at Venice Japanese Community Center.