May 21, 1941 – January 11, 2025
Catherine (Cathy) Keiko was born in Manchuria, China as the youngest of Fumi and Roy Shiomi. Roy was working as an engineer for a Japanese company stationed in Manchuria during WW ll. Those were difficult times since Manchuria was taken over by the Communist Russians. Eventually her family relocated back to Japan, where Cathy grew up until the age of 8 years old. Since her parents were from the state of Washington, they returned to Spokane, Washington, where Cathy lived in her early years. Once the war was over, her parents initially moved to Los Angeles, where her father, Roy worked for the County of Los Angeles as an engineer and Cathy and her family rented a small apartment near downtown Los Angeles. Eventually, her father purchased a home in Pacoima, California, where Cathy attended middle and high school, as well as Los Angeles Valley College. Cathy worked during the summer as a hospital nursing aide. This experience and her excellent achievements in high school and college qualified her to enter the prestigious School of Nursing at UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles), where she earned her R.N. (registered nurse) degree.
While at UCLA, Cathy met her future husband, Thomas (Tom) Toyokazu Yoshikawa, who was a pre-med student. Subsequently, Tom was accepted to the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cathy and Tom were married on December 26, 1964. After Tom graduated from medical school, Cathy and Tom returned to Los Angeles, for Tom to complete his medical residency training. Cathy then worked as a registered nurse in a local hospital. These were good times for Cathy. As a result of Tom’s successful medical career they were able to travel to many different countries that hosted medical conferences where Tom was invited to give lectures on his area of specialty (infections in older adults). Cathy loved to travel and because of Tom’s work he was invited to many countries for major medical conferences (England, Sweden, Switzerland, Mexico, etc.). Eventually, Cathy became pregnant and they raised 3 children, Todd, Misty and Scott, while living in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Cathy then worked as a registered nurse at San Pedro Hospital. Because of Tom’s job in West Los Angeles (VA Medical Center), they eventually purchased a condominium in Marina Del Rey, California, where they lived when Cathy was diagnosed with lung cancer (non-smoker) and died January 11, 2025 in her own bed at home (which was her wish).