We were sorry to learn today from Leslie Maeda, Susan Fujita's daughter, of the death of her mother:
"Susan passed away peacefully at the age of 73 years young on November 17th, 2013 following a short, but courageous battle with lung cancer. Susan was born to Ichiro and Nobuko Hayashida on Bainbridge Island and graduated from Bainbridge Island High School in 1958. She then went on to pursue a lifelong passion of cosmetology. As co-owner of Choppers hair salon in Madison Park for over 30 years, she met many interesting people and made many friends. Even when she was very ill, she didn’t want to stop working because she enjoyed her clients so much.
She met the love of her life, Melvin Fujita, on a blind date and they were married November 15, 1964. Susan was an avid tennis player and was very close with her group of tennis friends; enjoying many lunches, laughs and travels with them. She loved sports and played volleyball on the JBC team for over 30 years and was a longtime season ticket holder for the Seahawks, Mariners and the Sonics. Susan loved to travel and her adventurous spirit led to many trips with family and friends to over 17 countries and every continent except Antarctica. Susan also enjoyed gardening, cooking, theatre, and entertaining at the Hansville beach house. True to her generous spirit, Susan annually volunteered for the Forgotten Children’s Fund around the holidays.
Susan is survived by her husband Melvin Fujita, and her siblings Tomiko (Hank) Egashira, Hisako (James) Matsudaira, Yasuko Mito, Hiroshi (Loretta) Hayashida, and Judy Hayashida. Susan also leaves behind her two daughters, Tiffanie Fujita and Lezlie (Dean) Maeda, and her grandson, Oliver Maeda. She was predeceased by her parents Ichiro and Nobuko Hayashida, brother in law Henry Mito, and granddaughter Abigail Maeda. Susan’s warm and caring spirit will be deeply missed by all who were blessed enough to have their hearts touched by her. There are no words to describe the enormous void that will be felt by her family and her extensive circle of friends.
Remembrances can be made to the American Cancer Society."
I will miss Susan a lot. We came to know each other over the last ten years. I was a frequent customer at Choppers. Susan was a wonderful woman who always had a smile and took time to ask about me and my daughters. A truly graceful person who I am privileged to have known - even if just a little bit.
ReplyDeleteBill Ruckelshaus (Madison Park)