Jan 3, 1925 – May 7, 2019
Lily Sachiye Sumida was born in Hollister CA. on Jan 3, 1925. She was the youngest of 7 children – 4 brothers and 2 sisters. She lived in Hollister from 1925 until the beginning of WWII. As a senior in High School after the Pearl Harbor Attack, she and her family were then relocated as a result of Executive Order 9066 and moved to an Internment camp in Poston AZ after spending a few months in the horse stables of the rodeo grounds in Salinas, CA.
In the internment camp she met her husband Akira Yamashita and they were then married in July 1945.
After the War they moved to Salinas where their son, Allyn was born in 1946 and then moved to Watsonville CA. where Lily lived until 2012.
In Watsonville, Lily was a housekeeper for multiple families and eventually worked at the Watsonville Public Library for over 20 years. In 1960 she gave birth to her second son, Jeff.
Lily was a member and leader for many years in the Watsonville Buddhist Church and an active participant in the Church’s Karaoke group. They traveled to and performed in several cities in Northern CA. including Sacramento and Fresno.
Lily and Akira celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1995 in Hollister, where Lily grew up. Her husband then passed away in 2004. Following her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2010 or 2011, She moved in with her son Allyn in Southern Ca. On May 7th, this year, she passed away.
Lily is survived by her two sons and daughters in law, Jeff and Pam, Allyn and Sherri, four grandchildren Brent, Wendy, Ellie and Abby, five great grandchildren, Julia, Anna, Madelyn, Ian, and Lillian as well as her one remaining brother Joey, and several nieces and nephews.
A graveside burial service will be held July 17th 2019, 1:30 at the Pajaro Valley Memorial Park.
