Kuniko Okamoto
Aug. 13, 1931-April 26, 2026
Palo Alto, California

Kuniko Ikemori Okamoto, age 94, was born August 13, 1931 and was raised in Kahului, Maui, Hawaii and passed on April 26, 2026 in Carmel, Indiana. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Howard Kazuo Okamoto. She is survived by her three children Kelvin, Kathleen, and Karlton (Lucy) and her cherished grandchildren Trevor, Kirsten, Everett and Raku. She is also survived by her sister Janet and brother George.

Kuniko had five sisters and two brothers growing up and moved to Honolulu in 1949 to work as a secretary-bookkeeper in Honolulu, Hawaii and started attending night classes at the University of Hawaii- Manoa. With a scholarship from an unknown donor, Kuniko then attended Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington) starting in 1953 to study business law. Kuniko then transferred to the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan) to study speech pathology where she graduated with a BS. She was one of five who graduated from this competitive program.

After college. Kuniko returned to Hawaii and worked as a secretary at Fort Shafter, when she met and married Howard Okamoto on November 1, 1958. After a brief stint in Palo Alto, California, the family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan and then to Dresher, Pennsylvania in 1962 where their children spent most of their school years. Kuniko worked as a speech therapist for the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and was largely assigned to the Hatboro Horsham School District. Concurrently, Kuniko attended Trenton State University (Trenton, New Jersey) and graduated with a MS in speech pathology.

In 1978, Kuniko and her family moved back to Palo Alto, California and then with Howard to Napa, California. Kuniko was proud of having worked with several school districts and at the Stanford Speech and language Clinic while in Palo Alto and taught English to JAL pilots and families who trained at the Napa airport. She finally retired in 2010 at 79 yrs old, from the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, California where she worked with veterans to recover speech skills after strokes, etc.

While doing all this, to fulfill a sweet tooth dream of Kuniko’s, Kuniko and Howard owned and managed an ice cream and candy store in Napa, CA which was visited by Julia Child! Additionally, Kuniko had a prolific green thumb, grew many, many orchids, was an AAUW member and formed gourmet clubs wherever she lived.

Since leaving Napa, Kuniko and Howard lived in locations near each of her children, in Mountain View, in Leisure World, Seal Beach, California until a year after her husband’s passing, and then in various locations in Orange County, California and her final move to Carmel, Indiana in 2019.

Kuniko passed peacefully on April 26, 2026 at Story Cottage, Carmel, Indiana. Kuniko will be reunited with Howard at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California on Monday, July 20, 2026 10:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, please mail donations in Kuniko Okamoto's name to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 13770 Noel Road, Suite 801889, Dallas, TX 75380 or submit online at komen.org.

A Celebration of Life will be held at El Dorado Park, 2760 North Studebaker Road, Long Beach, CA 90815 on Sunday July 19, 2026 in the afternoon. Please email Kelvin, Kathleen or kunikocelebration@gmail.com, for more details.

Tags: teacher/educator