It is with great sadness, the family of Shizuko (Suzie) Tamura would like to announce her passing on the morning of Sunday, February 2 nd , 2020 at Mount Cartier Court in Revelstoke, B.C. at the age of 99 years.
A Buddhist Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12 th , 2020 at Brandon Bowers Funeral Home at 301 Mackenzie Avenue, Revelstoke, with Reverend Yasuhiro Miyakawa of Kelowna officiating. Following the interment at Mountain View Cemetery, there will be a reception held at the Revelstoke Senior’s Centre.
The family wishes in lieu of flowers that memorial donations be offered to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of B.C., 4 – 1551 Sutherland Avenue, Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 9M9, in memory of Shizuko Tamura.
Shizuko was born in Steveston, B.C. on December 25, 1920 to her parents Hideo and Toyoshige Tamura. Shizuko returned to Japan after the death of her mother and baby brother to be raised by family. She returned to Canada and married her husband Hideho. At this time World War Two erupted and people of Japanese descent were placed in Internment Camps. Shizuko was placed at Hastings Park and she gave birth to her first child in Vancouver. Her new family was then placed in the Tashme Internment Camp between Hope and Princeton, B.C., where she gave birth to her
second child. After the war ended Shizuko and her husband and children returned to Japan in August of 1946. She had two more children there. Shizuko and her family had the opportunity to move back to Canada. She moved to Revelstoke in 1958 with her husband Hideho and their four children. She worked many jobs until she gained full- time employment at the old Queen Victoria Hospital, located on First Street. When the present Queen Victoria Hospital was opened in 1971 Shizuko worked in the kitchen until she retired in 1985. She was known as Suzie to her friends, Grandma to her grandchildren and Bachan to her great and great-great-grandchildren and all of her friends.
Suzie always had a smile on her face, and when she laughed, she laughed with her whole body. Suzie loved her family immensely and she was often seen proudly pushing a stroller around town with a great grandchild or two. She liked gardening and was famous for her dill pickles and superb jams. Suzie was an extremely accomplished seamstress. She had attended a seamstress school in her younger years, and she sewed clothes for herself and her family. Her granddaughters loved and will always remember all the lovely dresses she had made for them through the years. She loved to knit and crochet and had knitted many socks, scarves and sweaters for her family and friends. Suzie enjoyed karaoke with the Japanese community and sang at many karaoke gatherings in other communities as well. Suzie liked bowling, huckleberry, dandelion and mushroom picking. One of Suzie’s passions was Bingo. Suzie loved playing Bingo. She also enjoyed her visits out of town so she could venture into a Casino on occasion.
At a very young age Shizuko was predeceased by her baby brother Yoshikazu and her mother Hideo in 1924. Her father Toyoshige Tamura passed in 1979, her son-in-law Mitsuo Kimura in 1988, her son Yutaka Tamura in 1997, her husband Hideho Tamura in 1998, and recently her grandson-in-law Jim Freberg in 2018.
She is survived by her daughter June Kimura of Prince Rupert, daughter Akiko Szekely of Golden, son Jimmy Tamura of Revelstoke; grandchildren: Susan Freberg of Revelstoke, Wendy (Mike) Fitzpatrick of Calgary, Alberta, Sheila Szekely (Dan) of Coquitlam, Richard Szekely (Letitia) of Golden, and Karen (Brian) Kimura of Prince Rupert; great grandchildren: Kristina Freberg of Surrey, Vanessa Freberg (Yan) of Revelstoke, Michael (Meg) Freberg of Terrace, Porshia (Brennon) Schultz of Armstrong, Toshiro Szekely of Salmon Arm, Jessica Freberg (Brayton) of Calgary, Alberta, Rylie and Kelsen Miller of Prince Rupert, Chelsea and Kailey Fitzpatrick of Calgary, Alberta; great-great grandchildren: Aedan and Kylar Freberg-Hickie of Revelstoke and Lucia and Lark Schultz of Armstrong.
Our family would like to sincerely thank Dr. Jarmula, Dr. Wild, Dr. Kate McCarroll and Nurse Practitioner Ann-Marie Gill for their attentiveness, compassion and guidance in the care of Suzie. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the nurses and care aides at Mount Cartier Court for the care Suzie received. Thank you to all our
friends and extended family for your love, compassion, kind words and support at such a sad time.
We would like to thank Gary and Chrissie Sulz and Krista Manuel at Brandon Bowers Funeral Home for your help and guidance with all the funeral arrangements. Your compassion and professionalism is very much appreciated at this time of our loss.
Messages of sympathy may be sent to Suzie’s family by viewing her obituary at:
www.brandonbowersfuneralhome.com
Arrangements are in the care of Brandon Bowers Funeral Home, Revelstoke.
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