...who arrived young in an unknown land and made it her own with elegance and grace
Meiko Ishida Pearson, beloved longtime member of the Queen Anne community, died on Oct. 26.
She was 73.
She was born Jan. 4, 1934, to Kameko and Tsutomu Ishida in Kobe, Japan, descended from a line of samurai. A model who had enrolled in business school, she met her husband-to-be Jim while he was stationed in Japan as a U.S. Navy officer. They married in Japan and, at the age of 20, Meiko left the world she knew to move to the United States, in 1954.
At the time they arrived in the small town of Chehalis, anti-Japanese sentiment still ran high. However, Mrs. Pearson quickly won others over with her warmth, graciousness and outgoing personality. Within a few months, the Centralia Daily Chronicle had occasion to publish a photograph of Meiko and the Lady Elks Club - all wearing kimonos.
The Pearsons moved to Queen Anne in 1958, first living in an apartment on Mercer Street but soon buying the house on 13th Avenue West that would remain home all their married life.
Mrs. Pearson was blessed with elegance, grace and an open heart; she would light up a room just by walking in. Youthful and energetic throughout her life, she still worked out at the Olympic Athletic Club, dressed with impeccable style and walked so fast in heels she nearly ran.
She served as district captain of the American Heart Association in 1981. She herself was a cancer survivor, recovering fully after her battle with cancer 15 years ago. Despite her petite and diminutive stature, she held the courage and determination of a warrior.
Mrs. Pearson leaves behind her husband of 53 years, Jim; children Jackie and Ron; grandson Eric; siblings Hatsue, Junichi and Yoshiko; and many dearly loved friends in the U.S. and Japan. She was everyone's best friend. She made all she crossed paths with feel valued and cherished, and as her family remembers, "showed us every day how much you loved us." She will be so missed.
The family expresses thanks to Medic One and Harborview's emergency department and CICU. Services for Mrs. Pearson will be held Sunday, Nov. 11, at 12 noon at Bonney Watson, 1732 Broadway.
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