Ikuyo Hata

Ikuyo Hata, 94, born on January 3, 1923 in Fresno, CA, passed away June 5, 2017. She resided in Northridge, California at the time of her passing.

Ikuyo was born in 1923 to Tamizo and Okayo Matsumoto; she was the 2nd of 5 children. In recent years, she shared many memories with her grandchildren about growing up with her family on farm land, learning to collect and dry grapes for making raisins, as well as adventures she would have with her siblings. In her teens, Ikuyo moved down to Los Angeles to live with her cousins Morichi and Suki Matsumoto and work in their beauty shop, Angel Beauty Salon, which was located in what is now Little Tokyo. When the US entered WWII and western Japanese Americans were relocated, she returned home to be evacuated with her family to the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona in Camp II. After the Japanese Americans were released from camps in the mid 40's, Ikuyo went with her cousins again, but this time to Colorado to work in their beauty shop that they were going to reopen in Denver. It was here that she met Jack Hata at an event at their church. Jack and Ikuyo were married soon after. In 1951, they welcomed their daughter, Eileen and a few months later moved back out to the Los Angeles area in Northridge, CA with family. Ikuyo continued her work with her cousins at their beauty shop when they reopened in a new area of Los Angeles, and Jack also purchased a dry cleaning business, Rugby Dry Cleaning in Tarzana that she helped run with him. In 1954, they welcomed their second daughter, Joanne. Jack and Ikuyo remained in their same home for the remainder of their lives in Northridge, CA.

Over the years, Ikuyo spent much of her time raising her children and caring for various family members later in their lives. She loved spending time with family in Clovis and up at Shaver Lake; she was also very involved in her church Tarzana Christian Church then later Cornerstone Christian Church. As her family grew, Joanne had Alyson, and Eileen had Stacey, Robbie, and Amanda, she loved being involved in her grandchildren's lives...from school performances, to grandparents' days, to sports games, to graduations, she always tried to be there. Ikuyo hated flying, but wouldn't let that stop her from visiting her grandkids during times they lived far away. She especially loved becoming a great-grandma and having Giovanni come visit her. Even in her later years, she continued to care for older family members, and through her care of her cousin, Dorothy, she met Minda Dabon, who also cared for Dorothy. Minda would later become a caregiver for Jack and Ikuyo at the end of their lives and became such an encouragement to Ikuyo and became like family to her.

Ikuyo was dearly loved by all who knew her and was surrounded by family caring for her her last years of life. She also had the blessing of getting to see many of her family members over the last year, some even the weekend before she passed. Even in her more forgetful times, she loved her family and cared deeply about each of them. Ikuyo lived her life in service to those around her and sought to meet any needs that she could. She longed to be with the Lord and we rejoice that she is whole and complete with Him today.

Ikuyo was preceded in death by her husband, Jack, her brother, Toshiro, and her sister, Hoshiko. She is survived by her sister, Mine Ikeda, and her brother, Shingo Tom Matsumoto; her daughters, Eileen Coombe and Joanne Mariko Morikawa; her grandchildren, Alyson and Brandon, Stacey, Robbie and Leslie, and Amanda; as well as her great-grandson, Giovanni. She is also survived by her extended family of cousins, nieces, nephews, and their children.