Iso Minamoto Umeki (The Life Interrupted, “Voluntary Relocation”, Tanforan, Topaz and Beyond)
Iso was born in Oakland, CA in May 1919, the third of five children. Her parents operated a laundry business, but later moved to San Leandro to open a general store. The family was incarcerated at Tanforan Race Track and then transferred to Topaz Concentration Camp in 1942. Iso married Kaoru Umeki in the dining hall at the Topaz Camp in 1942. After being released, she and Kaoru briefly lived in Salt Lake City, UT, where their first son Bryan was born, and then returned to California and raised their three children in Berkeley. Iso worked as a secretary for the Berkeley School District for 32 years until she retired at age 70. Her husband Kaoru worked for his uncle’s nursery in Union City until he died at age 59. Iso passed away in 1996 in Berkeley, CA.
Shoko Matsuura Umekubo (Town Hall)
Shoko was born in 1956 in San Francisco, CA to Masaru and Kiyoko Matsuura. She has lived in the Richmond District her entire life. After graduating from George Washington High School, City College of San Francisco, and SF State, she attended a pharmacy tech program at the VA hospital and worked at Mt. Zion Hospital for 11 years. She was a pharmacy tech, and then a laboratory assistant in the Virology Dept. After she and her husband John had a daughter, Lisa, she became a full-time mother. She has a passion for decorating, arts and crafts, and of course, LEGO®.