June Takekawa Hsu's Obituary
June Takekawa Hsu May 4, 1930 ~ June 24, 2015June Hsu was born as June Takekawa in Tokyo, Japan on May 4, 1930, as the first child of Tadao and Suzuyo Takekawa. When she was 11, she lost her father to typhoid. Her mother later married Robert Dobson, a Canadian banker, with whom with she had two sons, Yuichi and Michiru.Growing up in war-time Tokyo, June routinely had to hide in bomb shelters and was pressed into national service as a middle school girl sewing giant balloons, which unbeknownst to her, were later used to float bombs across the Pacific.After the war, she attended and graduated from a women’s college in Tokyo and met Hugo Hsu, a Chinese immigrant, who lived in the apartment building next door. She spoke Japanese, he spoke Chinese, but they both spoke the universal language of “love” and communicated by writing kanji characters. On June 7th, 1953, Hugo and June got married.Two years later, they had their first child, daughter Keiko. Hugo’s transfer with his US Government employer, FBIS, moved them to Okinawa, where they would spend the majority of their next 25+ years. In 1962, they had their first son Lambert, and second daughter Madge the following year.June was active with her FBIS and Air Force base community, being involved with community events, mahjong parties and eventually managing the Genji Japanese Restaurant at the Okinawa Hilton.In 1981, Hugo retired and they moved to California to be closer to their children, eventually settling in San Diego. June was excited to be hired as a cashier for the “new” Nijiya Japanese market.Sadly, Hugo contracted a rare neurological condition that slowly deteriorated his ability to walk, talk and eat. June was always there for him to the very end, taking care of his every need until 1992, when he was lost at age 74.On September 8th, 1995, June became a grandmother for the first time with the birth of her grandson Ryan Hsu, and again the following year, with the birth of her granddaughter Tiffany Hsu, both children of her son Lambert. She officially became known as “Baba” – a name (and role) she cherished!June continued to enjoy her cashier work at Nijiya, friendly with the local Japanese American community for over 20 years, before retiring in 2007.June Takekawa Hsu – funny, always smiling, giving, generous, caring, unselfish, and so much more. But the word that describes her the most today – MISSED.Memorial and Celebration of Life services will be held at 2pm, July 26th at Pioneer Ocean View Church, 2550 Fairfield Street in San Diego. She is survived by her daughters Keiko & Madge Hsu, son Lambert Hsu, grandson Ryan Hsu, granddaughter Tiffany Hsu, brothers Yuichi & Michiru Takekawa, and is predeceased by her husband Hugo Hsu.
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