Obituary & Biography

Setsuko Amburn (nee Kamei), 95, of Anacortes passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 5, 2020 at Rosario Assisted Living .  Setsuko was a vivacious woman with an infectious smile and a flair for fashion. She loved sewing colorful outfits and knitting matching scarves, reading Japanese novels, studying maps, listening to classical music, cooking for her family, helping the Anacortes Sister Cities Association with Japanese visitors and traveling the world with her husband Joe, who passed away in 2014.  She was a long-time member of the Japanese women’s Shakunage (rhododendron) Club in Oak Harbor, Anacortes Sister Cities Association and the Anacortes United Methodist Church.  She is survived by her daughter Cora Amburn-Lijek (Mark Lijek) and her grandchildren Krystyna and Michael Lijek.  A celebration of life memorial service will be held on Friday, August 13, 2021.  For details, refer back to this site in July or contact Cora at coralijek@gmail.com for further details.

 

 

Early Life

 

Setsuko Kamei was born on April 1, 1924 in the small agricultural town of Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan.  The next to the youngest child of eight children, Setsuko had a happy life growing up in a large family with everyone helping each other.  Her mother was a flower arrangement teacher and her father a Japan National Railway (JNR) administrator. With JNR, Setsuko’s family moved several times during her childhood finally settling in Sapporo, where her father retired. She was the joker in the family, always making her parents laugh.  Setsuko loved to ski and was an accomplished koto (a Japanese 13-string musical instrument) player.  She attended a prestigious all-girls high school in Sapporo, and in her later years attended many class reunions.   After Setsuko graduated, she worked as a clerk in the Department of Mining until the end of World War II.

 

After World War II, Setsuko’s younger brother Toshio convinced her to work for American military families in order to improve her English and to earn money to help the family.  Setsuko worked for five American families as a housemaid/nanny/cook.  She not only improved her English, but also became an outstanding cook and baker while learning many American customs.  The wife of the last family she worked for encouraged her to apply for a job as a switchboard operator for the U.S. Army. While working for American families, Setsuko began to attend church services and joined the church choir.  Setsuko’s faith and belief in God were very important to her and helped her through challenging times.

 

Setsuko and Joe

 

While Setsuko was working as a switchboard operator in Sendai, she met and later married her husband, Joseph, who was in the U.S. Army. Setsuko’s mother objected to her marrying an American and going far away, but Setsuko’syounger brother supported her decision.  As he was the head of the family, Setsuko’s mother had to accept his decision.  

 

Setsuko and Joe married on March 10, 1953 at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.  Their marriage was a rare one in the 1950’s as it was bi-racial, bi-cultural and bi-national.  Both families accepted the marriage despite their differences.  In May 1954, Setsuko and Joe had a daughter, Cora.  That December, Setsuko boarded a ship bound for California with Joe and their baby.  She did not know if or when she would see her Japanese family again and international phone calls were prohibitively expensive. Their only means of communication would be letters

 

Joe’s eldest sister Edith and his mother Cora drove from Knoxville, Tennessee to California to pick them up.  Joe and Edith drove through the night, taking turns sleeping as they did not have much money to stay in motels.  When Joe’s family met Setsuko, they welcomed her warmly and immediately made her feel part of the family.  Setsuko had a close relationship with Joe's mother, Cora, and her sister-in-laws, Edith, Margaret, and Susie (Georgia).  She and Susie became especially close over the years, and both said they felt more like sisters than sister-in-laws.
 

Together, Setsuko and Joe lived in Niagara Falls, Germany, New Jersey, Japan, Iran, Tennessee, and finally Washington state.  When Joe left for Germany, Setsuko and Cora stayed with Edith and Joe’s mother so that Setsuko could study and take the test for U.S. citizenship, which she passed with flying colors.  After Setsuko received her citizenship, she and Cora flew to Germany to join Joe inDarmstadt. Joe’s next assignment wasFort Monmouth, NJ, where Joe, Setsuko and Cora would end up living off and on for many years. 

 

 In 1961 with the help of the Pentagon, Joe was assigned to Tokyo.  Setsuko was very excited at the prospect of returning to Japan and being able to see her mother,andbrother,and sisters again.  During the three years they lived in Tokyo, Setsuko and Cora spent a month each summer at Setsuko’s brother’s house, where her mother lived, in Sapporo.  They also visited her sisters and their families in nearby towns.  Setsuko enjoyed being back in Japan and sharing her culture with her husband and daughter.

 

In 1964 Joe, Setsuko and Cora returned to New Jersey. After two years, Joe was deployed to Vietnam.  While he was gone, Setsuko saved all of the money he sent home, living on her earnings as a seamstress.  She surprised Joe when he came home with enough money for them to put a down payment on a house of their own.  

 

In New Jersey Setsuko worked as a seamstress at three different garment factories.  She was a master seamstress, so repaired the mistakes of other workers, and for one year was a sample maker.  In her free time, Setsuko made most of her own clothes and many of Cora’s. Her closet was ever growing, complete with every color of the rainbow. In later years she sewed matching suits for her and Joe, his complete with hats. On most holidays you would find the two dressed to the nines in matching new garb.  Setsuko also crocheted and knitted, making many colorful scarves to match her dashing outfits.  

 

In 1972 after retiring from the military, Joe took a job in Teheran, Iran teaching electronics.  Setsuko waited for Cora to complete the first semester of college before joining Joe in Teheran and later in the small town of Sirjan, where she was the only foreign woman in the town.  

 

From that time on, Setsuko and Joe traveled to many countries around the world.  They loved going to new places, seeing amazing sights like Persepolis, the Parthenon in Athens, etc. and experiencing new foods and cultures.  They also traveled to Japan quite often beginning in the 1980’s to visit Setsuko’s family and friends.  Setsuko also attended quite a few high school reunions. They also visited her nephew in Brazil and Cora and her family in Hong Kong, Nepal, Poland and Germany where their son-in-law Mark was assigned by the State Department.  Over the years, Setsuko and Joe visited England, Spain, France, Macao, India, Turkey, Thailand, Austria, and other countries. Setsuko loved to tell stories of her and Joe traveling the world together.

 

By 1988, there were two grandchildren, Krystyna and Michael.  Setsuko loved them both very much.  They were probably the main reason Joe and Setsuko visited Cora’s family at Christmas almost every year, especially when they lived in cold northern Europe. Setsuko made beautiful clothes for Krystyna and Michael and loved to play games with them when she visited. She even read them stories in English even though they sometimes didn’t understand her pronunciation.  She would just laugh and smile about it.

 

In 1990 when Joe accepted a job in Turkey at a remote military installation, Setsuko stayed behind in New Jersey.  While he was away, she decided to take English classes because she had always wanted to improve her English.  However, when she went to the class, she discovered her English was too advanced. Then she decided to get a GED even though she already had a high school diploma from Japan.  The teacher of the GED class soon figured out Setsuko was good at math. So, she ended up helping other students having difficulty with math as well as getting her GED.

 

Anacortes, Washington

 

In 1996 Cora’s husband retired,and their family moved to Anacortes, WA.  Soon after Mark and Cora suggested that Setsuko and Joe join them in Anacortes since Setsuko and Joe had no family in New Jersey and many of their friends were retiring to their home states. Setsuko and Joe came out for a visit to check out the area.  They both liked it and were looking forward to watching their grandchildren grow up and spending time with Mark and Cora.  They returned to New Jersey and moved to Anacortes six weeks later after selling their house.  

 

Setsuko and Joe were both retired by then.  Setsuko was a social butterfly, and Joe was her driver and escort. They joined the Anacortes Sister Cities Association, which Cora and Mark belonged to and had a sister city in Japan. They hosted Japanese visitors, and Setsuko helped with translation when needed.  She particularly enjoyed taking Japanese visitors to meet Mayor Dean Maxwell and acting as the translator.  Setsuko also joined the Shakunage (rhododendron) Japanese Women’s Club in Oak Harbor. Through the Shakunage Club, she and Joe also joined the International Marriage Association and the Nikkei (Immigrant) Association.  In 2010 through a Nikkei Association trip, Setsuko and Joe had the opportunity to meet Empress Michiko in Tokyo.  Setsuko was so touched by the Empress and her concern about whether or not she had 

had a good life and was happy.  

 

Setsuko joined the Baptist Church when she and Joe first moved to Anacortes because her friend Hisako Rooney invited her there.  Later, she joined the United Methodist Church, which she hadattended for many years when she lived in New Jersey.  At both churches, she found wonderful friends and had the chance to attend Bible study classes as well as going on outings together.  Several of Setsuko’s friends from both Bible study groups visited her at San Juan Rehab and Rosario Assisted Living.

 

Setsuko had two very special Japanese friends that she met in Anacortes.  One was Hisako Rooney, and the other was Yoko Carlson.  They enjoyed getting together, going places together, having meals together and speaking Japanese.  Hisako and Yoko visited Setsuko at Island Hospital, San Juan Rehab and Rosario Assisted Living.  Sadly, Hisako passed away in 2019.  Yoko continued to visit Setsuko and spent time at her bedside during the last week of her life.

 

Setsuko became Joe’s caregiver when he became wheelchair bound and developed dementia.  After he passed away in 2014, she lived alone for two years.  Due to medical issues and the beginning of dementia, Setsuko moved to Rosario Assisted Living facility not far from Cora’s house. Setsuko particularly enjoyed Cora’s almost daily visits, the Bible Study sessions, scenic bus rides, musical performances, and other gatherings.  Although she began to use a walker due to dizziness, Setsuko tried to walk outside as much as possible, and she and Cora occasionally went on walks when the weather was nice.  Despite having dementia, Setsuko was still sharp until the end.

 

Setsuko had developed stomach problems in November 2019 and began hospice care at the end of December. Despite her poor health, she rallied for Thanksgiving and Christmas, which she spent with family and friends. At the end of December, she entered hospice care.  With the same strength that she faced the many challenges during her life, Setsuko also faced death with strength.  She was at peace and was ready to meet her Lord and Savior.  In late February, Setsuko stopped eating.  Krystyna arrived the next day from New York City, where she lived. Michael came to visit Setsuko and say goodbye. Krystyna sat vigil with her grandmother for five days, and was holding Setsuko’s hand when she passed away.  

 

Setsuko faced many challenges in her life having lived through World War II, marrying a man from a different country and culture, emigrating to a foreign country, living in many different countries, taking care of her husband when he became wheelchair bound and developed dementia and realizing that she herself had developed dementia.  She was a courageous woman who always looked at the positive side of life.  If you knew Setsuko, you will not forget her smile.

 

The Lijek family would like to thank the Rosario Assisted Living staff and Hospice of the NW staff for the kind care they provided Setsuko in her last few months, Pastor Feagin and members of the United Methodist Church who provided spiritual support and friendship, and family and friends who provided companionship and support.