Mieko (Okawa) Hay-Chapman

On June 18th, 2018 Mieko Hay-Chapman passed away at her home in Albany, CA surrounded by loved ones.

She was born on October 9, 1924 in Shizuoka Ken, Japan, and grew up in Yokohama. She had one brother. As a young woman she worked hard, loved to sing and played the traditional Japanese instrument, the shamisen. She was a 1945 Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor. She did not marry until her mid-forties when she met the love of her life, Larry Hay-Chapman, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel stationed in Japan.

After she and Larry married, she sold her house in Japan and moved to the San Francisco Bay area where her husband had been born and raised. They bought a home at the Gateview Condos in Albany with a view of the entire bay and city. They lived there together, happily for over 30 years. They had a key shop business in the El Cerrito Plaza before they retired. She played a major role in the success of the business.

She loved to fish at the Berkeley Pier, grow flowers on her deck overlooking the bay, cook and entertain visiting family and friends. She was an active member of the El Cerrito Sakura Kai for many years where she made several life-long friends.

She never had any children of her own, but inherited her husband’s ten kids and 16 grandchildren that she loved and who adored her.

She was known for her infectious smile and laugh, her happy attitude, and making the best out of every day.

Mieko’s family would like to thank her many care-givers, neighbors and friends who continued to love and care for her until her last day.

Rest in Peace, sweet Mieko! Her ashes are interred at the Sunset View Cemetery in El Cerrito, CA in the Heian Garden next to her husband.