November 27, 1929 – October 22, 2024
Westminster, California
Tsuneko was born in Fukuoka-ken, Japan, but spent most of her youth in Korea with her family during the turbulent years of World War II. She immigrated to California soon after meeting Takeo and getting married in May 1959. She has lived in Orange County ever since, raising her own family and being naturalized as a U.S. citizen. She dedicated her life to being a devoted wife to her husband, mother to her four children, and proud grandmother to her five grandchildren.
Tsuneko shared her deep-rooted Japanese upbringing through her masterful cooking and celebration of cultural traditions. She raised her children instilling the values of moral character, discipline, education, work ethic, and compassion as her legacy.
Tsuneko passed away peacefully on October 22, 2024, at the age of 94 in Gardena, California. She is predeceased by her parents, Rikizo and Mitsuno, husband, Takeo, and siblings in Japan. She is survived by her sons, Timothy, Steven and James; daughter, Barbara Salamoff; and grandchildren, Ethan, Sarah, Mary, Sydnee and Kyle, who were her pride and joy. Tsuneko is to be interred alongside her husband during a private graveside service at Westminster Memorial Park.