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| Rachel Agawa |
Rachel Nakako Furuya (Poston 26-9-BC) was born on May 11,
1934 in El Centro, California to Japanese immigrants, Matazo and Yoki
(Itayagoshi) Furuya. She grew up with three sisters and five brothers and her
father was a ranch foreman at the vegetable farms in the Imperial Valley.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the signing of Executive Order 9066, Rachel her family members, Matazo, Yoki, Suzue, Shoji, Koichi Tom, Jinzo Jimmie, Reizo Ray, and Tomoko Sophie, were evacuated and incarcerated at the Poston, Arizona concentration camp 1 on May 21, 1942. Rachel attended the Poston I Elementary School. Nobuko Grace was born in the winter of 1944 at Poston. Her sister Suzue left the Poston camp to resettle in New York City at the end of January in 1945.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the signing of Executive Order 9066, Rachel her family members, Matazo, Yoki, Suzue, Shoji, Koichi Tom, Jinzo Jimmie, Reizo Ray, and Tomoko Sophie, were evacuated and incarcerated at the Poston, Arizona concentration camp 1 on May 21, 1942. Rachel attended the Poston I Elementary School. Nobuko Grace was born in the winter of 1944 at Poston. Her sister Suzue left the Poston camp to resettle in New York City at the end of January in 1945.
Rachel, her parents and
the rest of the Furuya family left Poston on September 13, 1945 and headed to Fresno, California. The Furuya family resettled in Kerman, California where Rachel went to school until her family moved to Santa Maria in 1948. Rachel was a 1952
graduate of Santa Maria High School and the school newspaper editor of The Breeze. After high school, Rachel attended Merritt College in Berkeley, California for two years.
Rachel married Jim Agawa on November 14,1953 in the Christ United Methodist Church in Santa Maria by Reverend Oshita. They lived in the Santa Maria Valley, and spent leisure time frequently going to Lake Nacimiento, as well as Mammoth Pool, Lake Powell, and Lopez Lake. They also traveled to Fiji, Hawaii, Japan, Mexico and Branson, and took many cruises. Rachel was a contestant on the television game show, The Price is Right with Bob Barker.
Rachel married Jim Agawa on November 14,1953 in the Christ United Methodist Church in Santa Maria by Reverend Oshita. They lived in the Santa Maria Valley, and spent leisure time frequently going to Lake Nacimiento, as well as Mammoth Pool, Lake Powell, and Lopez Lake. They also traveled to Fiji, Hawaii, Japan, Mexico and Branson, and took many cruises. Rachel was a contestant on the television game show, The Price is Right with Bob Barker.
Rachel had a talent for arts and crafts, cake decorating, painting,
dried flowers, and photography. She was also an avid Bridge player, fantastic
cook and natural entertainer.
Rachel Nakako (Furuya) Agawa, died on January 6, 2011 at the age of 76. She was preceded
in death by her parents, Matazo (1956) and Yoki Furuya (1966); and brothers,
Ichiro and Tom Koichi (1997).
She is survived by her husband Jim; daughters, Debi Hernandez (Andy), and
Barbie Maddox; sisters, Susie Nakamura,
Sophie Shimizu, and Rose Hawkins; brothers Shoji Furuya, Ray Furuya, and Jimmy
Furuya; and grandsons Cort, Nick and
Nolan Maddox.
Published in Santa Maria Times on January 11, 2011
