Chiyoko Nelson Obituary (1936 - 2024)

It’s appropriate that Chiyoko Nelson arrived in San Francisco, California, on a ship from Yokohama, Japan, in 1958 with her husband Scott and months-old baby boy, Glenn. That voyage was the beginning of an adventure in a new country and home in Seattle, Washington, that spanned more than 66 years, during which she overcame obstacles stemming from linguistic, cultural, and societal differences to live a profound and diverting life that spawned another three generations after her. That cruise technically was the first of 31 she would take with Scott, including one in 2000 with the entire family to the Mexican Riviera. Born on August 21, 1936, to Mina and Michinosuke Abe in Niigata, Japan, Chiyoko was the third oldest of six siblings, all of whom preceded her in death. She succumbed peacefully and surrounded by family at her Beacon Hill, Seattle, home on the evening of December 10, 2024, after a short bout with lung cancer. During her 88 years, Chiyoko was a model of determination and courage: She became a naturalized U.S. citizen on April 6, 1964, preparing while mothering three children, including a toddler, Linda, and learning English by watching television; she was taught to drive by her husband and for a year transported their eldest son to a distant, accelerated class up a large hill even in the snow; she transitioned from housewife and mother to an offset press operator who became so polished she asked for and was granted a raise, and she used her decades-long dedication to Jane Fonda Workout tapes to mitigate the impacts of Type 2 diabetes. She once was so moved during a Ray Charles concert, she leaped on the stage to pat the famed entertainer on the back in thanks, and once stood in line six hours for tickets to a Barry Manilow performance. She also is famed in Nelson lore for confronting a martial arts tournament competitor who’d injured her second son, Mike. She assiduously cared for two of her dogs, Buffy and Apollo, for hours daily during their senior years, and her last one, Bentley, as a puppy. Just recently, she surprised her family by waking in the hospital on the last birthday she shared with her oldest son and joining in the birthday serenade. Chiyoko loved dogs (including a Pekingese and four cocker spaniels), jewelry (already passed down over the years to younger family members), flowers (especially receiving them from loved ones), puzzles, magazines, and, most of all, her family. Younger than most parents, she and Scott were constant, enthusiastic, and well-known presences at their children’s activities, primarily on Beacon Hill, where the Nelsons have lived in the same house for more than 60 years. The highlight of any year for the Nelson family and friends was her single-handed preparation of sukiyaki and inarizushi on New Year’s Day. A creator, she also crafted numerous hand-made dolls and crocheted throws and afghans owned by family and friends alike. Hers was never an easy life. Chiyoko lost her father during World War II, while she was growing up in Niigata, a northern prefecture of the main island, known for its excellent rice and women. Michinosuke was dying of some type of virus, probably contracted during jungle warfare, and she would visit him in the hospital every day on the way to school. One day he was gone. Another day, not long after, so too was her family home, consumed by fire. Because of that, to her last day she never allowed candles to burn in her house. Friends and family helped rebuild her childhood home, but Mina was a single mother with six children during wartime. Several of them, including Chiyoko, were dispatched to other family. Chiyoko landed with her grandparents, fruit farmers who treated her harshly. There were several fruits that we enjoyed but she could not, because her grandparents allowed her to eat only the insect-infested, over-ripened pieces that had fallen to the ground. She recounted the many times of fanning huge wooden vats of rice, cooking over wooden fires outdoors for the fruit pickers. Chiyoko’s brother was a friend of the barber on the Niigata Air Base, which led her to Scott. Theirs was not a sanctioned marriage. He wrote to his mother about impending nuptials. Instead of writing him back, she telegraphed his superior officer. Scott was relocated to a place called Sado Island and ordered to “think things over.” In Japanese history, Sado Island is so isolated, it is where the vanquished were exiled. He was there for seven months, but was undeterred. Chiyoko’s family did not want her to leave for the U.S., especially with the first male of the generation (me) in tow. She also was undeterred. They remained undeterred for nearly 69 years. The family extends its heartfelt thanks to Dr. Jedd Gorden for his transparent, timely, and thoughtful care, as well as the capable, dedicated, and sensitive medical professionals and caregivers at Swedish Medical Center, Swedish Cancer Center, Providence Hospice of Seattle, and Dianne Domingo’s care-nursing crew. “Hon,” “Mom,” “Bāchan,” “Auntie,” “Obasan,” “Friend,” Chiyoko is survived by her husband Scott, son Glenn (daughter-in-law Florangela, granddaughters Sassia and Mika), son Mike (daughter-in-law Nobuko, grandsons Jun, Yuji, Kiyoshi, Kazu), and daughter Linda (granddaughter Mia). She had three great grandchildren (Asher, Gianna, Sylvia), and seven nieces and nephews (Miyuki Kagaya Burr, Stephe Tate, Trudy Hurley, Junko Abe, Yoko Abe, Lara Hennessey, and Nicholas Nelson). She also was joined on her excursion through life by her brother-in-law Norman Nelson and his partner Young Zordan, former daughter-in-law Yeanna Woo, and numerous friends and friends of family who shared their wisdom and kindness — and benefited from hers.