Yoko Tsukamoto
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Yoko Tsukamoto (1935-2020)
Yoko was born in 1935 to Japanese immigrants living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She had five
siblings, all brothers. Although she loved studying and learning, the lack of family
resources meant that she had to work at her father's bakery rather than continue
studying past elementary school.
In her early twenties, she heard the
life-changing message of what God
had done for her through the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. She understood this Good
News and gave her life to Him. She
soon met a Japanese missionary,
Minoru Tsukamoto, who had just
arrived in Brazil. They married in
1960 and ministered together in
Brazil for 2 years and then in
Paraguay for 26 years. Their two
children, Ruth and Daniel, were
both born and raised there.
Yoko enjoyed cooking for groups at
many church events and her artistic
abilities allowed her to create
children's Sunday School materials
by hand for many years.
In 1986 they moved to the United States and Minoru pastored for 2 years at the First
United Methodist Church in Rapid City, SD, before making their home in Watertown,
SD, where he served as chaplain at Jenkins Living Center for over 2 decades.
While in Watertown, Yoko took on the challenge of finishing her high school degree,
this time in English. Although she would say that she was not fluent in any language,
she could communicate in Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, and English. She was never
afraid of working hard and sharing the gospel with those around her, especially through
the unique hand-made cards she would make and distribute around holidays. She will
be remembered as a hard worker who was tireless in her commitment to ministry and
missions. Yoko died on Sunday, November 22, 2020, at the Jenkins Living Center in watertown at the age of 85 years.
Yoko was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Minoru Tsukamoto.
Given the current pandemic circumstances, no public service will be held.