Mariko Uyeda BORN May 3, 1920 DIED 2006
MARIKO UYEDA was born in Vancouver, BC on May 3, 1920. She was the middle child of Bunjiro and Kimi Uyeda, both of whom had emigrated from Japan. Mariko attended Lord Byng High School in Vancouver and then went on to UBC. She completed her degree at Queen’s University, and went on to become a teacher in Montréal. She began teaching in the elementary grades and finished her career as department head of business at Verdun High School. Mariko always loved classical music; she studied voice with the renowned Pauline Donalda and sang with the Montreal Bach Choir for many years. She also helped her niece and nephews with their music lessons as they were growing up in Montréal. Our aunt was an inspiring role model for us. Later in life, Mariko married Winston Curry, a movie theatre manager in Montréal.
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RETURN a commemorative yearbook in honour of the Japanese Canadian students of 1942
They lived in Montréal for several years before moving to Oakville, Ontario. Mariko spent many happy hours there in her back garden. She and Winston travelled extensively and attended concerts in Toronto and plays in Stratford. Mariko was a beautiful, elegant, intelligent woman. She appreciated beauty and accomplishment in the world, and was a generous supporter of many arts and culture organizations. Mariko had many friends throughout her life. She loved her friends, and they were intensely loyal to her. Mariko said very little about the internment and having her education taken from her. She did reveal to us once that the imposed curfew was a terrible humiliation. She never wanted to return to Vancouver, and other than to board a cruise ship, she never did. Mariko died in 2006. We miss her.