MITSUYE `AMY’ YAMAMOTO

MITSUYE ‘AMY’ YAMAMOTO
June 15, 1919 ~ July 25, 2025
It is with much sadness that I announce the passing of my mother, Mitsuye “Amy” Yamamoto. She was predeceased by her parents, Keijiro and Yukino Matsui; husband, Shigeru “Sam” Yamamoto; daughters, Joyce and Doris; son, Bob (Eliza) and her five brothers and their wives. Amy is survived by her son, Roy; grandson, Lawrence; sister, Sumiye Nishiguchi as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Amy was born in Port Alice, B.C. She spent her first three years there followed by a decade in Japan before moving back to Canada. She spent her teenage years working on her parent’s fruit farm in the Fraser Valley, what is now Abbotsford. The 30’s were difficult times, but they were the best years in Mom’s life. She was young, they had their farm, a house and many good friends and neighbours. Then came the War and their internment in 1942. That began a life of extreme hardship for Amy and the family. They were moved to Coaldale, Alberta area that spring arriving with only what they could carry. It was so cold… she really disliked the cold.
On April 20, 1944, Amy married Shigeru “Sam” Yamamoto, then began a lifetime as a wife, mother and unwavering family supporter.
In the decades that followed, she worked hard and tirelessly in the fields of sugar beets and hops, stooking fields of grain or weeding and harvesting dad’s vegetable gardens in Brooks and finally Medicine Hat, all the while raising her family. Amy worked in housekeeping at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital for two decades before her retirement, never missing a day. She loved kids and she babysat everyone.
Amy so loved flowers and even at 105, she would be out in the garden tending to them kneeling, bending, weeding and watering. Remarkable!
Never complaining, I do recall her saying many times how lucky and grateful she was to have met so many wonderful people in her journey.
A lifetime of caring and support, a generation of honour and integrity and more so perseverance, an era of hard work comes to a close, and that, as Mom would say, was her “destiny”. One hundred years gone by in the blink of an eye.
“Oyasumi nasai”. Good night. To all the staff at St. Joseph’s Home – Carmel Hospice, an ineffable “Thank you” for your kindness. Amy’s life will be silently honoured. Memorial donations may be directed to St. Joseph’s Home – Carmel Hospice, 156 – 3 Street N.E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 5M1. (Condolences may be expressed by visiting www.cooksouthland.com) Honoured to serve the family is
Cook Southland Funeral
Chapel Crematorium &
Reception Facility
901 – 13th Street S.W.
Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 4V4
Phone 403-527-6455
www.cooksouthland.com
“Locally owned & directed”