Obituary of Rae Tanabe Iwamoto

 

Rae Tanabe IWAMOTO 

1945-2019

 

 

Our much loved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend and relative to countless others passed away on October 3, 2019.  Rae was born in Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii in 1945, spent her childhood and teenage years in Waialua, Oahu but spent much of her adult life in Pullman, Seattle, and lately in Tacoma, WA. 

 

Rae was a life-long learner.  She excelled in school, graduating with honors with a BA in English literature from the University of Hawaii.   Rae was honored for her scholastic achievements with initiation into the Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board societies. 

 

Rae loved life and wanted others to share her joy in living.  She had the uncanny ability to make others feel at ease but was also never hesitant to let others know when she disagreed.   She was always giving of herself and also full of courage spending her early adult years as a caseworker in Harlem, New York and in south Georgia.

 

Her life was focused on her children, grandchildren, and her pet dogs, not necessarily in that order.  She was an excellent knitter, seamstress, and loved to experiment with cooking for others.  She was the rock and navigator for over 50 years for her husband, Robert.  They were fortunate to spend about a decade together after she retired from court administration and he from NOAA.

 

Rae is survived by her husband, her children Ruth Iwamoto (Lucy) in Tacoma and Ken Iwamoto (Karen) in Bolton, MA, her three grandchildren:  Grant, Teagan, and Alden all of whom she loved unconditionally, and her brother George J. Tanabe (Willa Jane) and her sister Carol Nagano in Hawaii.  We will miss our Tutu dearly.  She was taken much too soon.

 

Rae was a member of the Japanese Baptist Church in Seattle.  In lieu of a funeral service, the family held a celebration of life in Hawaii and a gathering for friends and family in Tacoma, WA.  The family also requests that any donations be made to your charity of choice.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rae Iwamoto, please visit Tribute Store