Chiyeko Mary Fujita was born on January 14, 1922 in Fresno, California to Jappanese immigrant farm laborers, Sakamatsu and Chisayo Fujita. She was raised in Ivanhoe, and graduated from Woodlake High School.
In 1942, Chiyeko, her parents and sister Michiko were evacuated from Visalia and arrived on August 7, 1942 by railroad to Parker, Arizona. They were transported through the desert to the Poston internment camp block 325-1-B. While in Poston, she met her future husband, Hifumi "George" Sasaki, 326 block manager. On September, 25,1943 they were married, and two months before they left Poston in 1945, their first baby Carlene Emi was born. They resettled in the Fresno area, and two years later, a son, Takashi Ronald was born.
Chiyeko and her family relocated to Visalia where she worked as a hotel manager. Later, she worked with the Bostitch Company in accounting. Chiyeko retired 1997. She passed away on May 13, 2011 at Chaste Tree Park. She was preceded in death by husband, George Hifumi (2009)
She is survived by daughter, Emi (Aki) Nakao; son, Ron, Jeffery (Cheryl), and Hilary (Harry) Miranda.
Sources:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/visaliatimesdelta/obituary.aspx?n=chiyeko-sasaki-mary&pid=151119331
Published in Visalia Times-Delta on May 18, 2011
