Tochiko Sekiguchi - Botanical Garden of the Ozarks - Fayetteville AR
N 36° 08.208 W 094° 07.157
15S E 399293 N 3999701
Two dedicated trees planted together memorialize a husband and wife. This tree is in memory of Tochiko Sekiguchi.
Waymark Code: WMVAMW
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2017
Views: 0
In Memory Of
Tochiko Sekiguchi
Who loved this Botanical Garden
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"After a courageous struggle to recover from a car accident that occurred on December 4, 2010, Tochiko (Chiko) Sekiguchi passed away on March 6, 2011 at the age of 81 years old. She was much loved by her children, grandchildren, and community of Fayetteville where she lived for 51 years. Chiko was born in Yonezawa, Yamagata, Japan on February 13, 1930 and graduated from Tokyo Women's Christian University.
She married Tetsundo Sekiguchi in 1955 who passed away in October of 2009.
They moved to the United States for Tetsundo to earn a PhD in mathematics at Oklahoma State University where he previously studied as a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship. Settling in Fayetteville in 1960 as a faculty member of the mathematics department at the University of Arkansas, they raised their five children, where Chiko was active in volunteering in her childrens' schools and activities and volunteering to help children with cerebral palsy at Good Shepard Lutheran Church then at the Richardson Center. She was a conduit between the Far East and the local community through her gift shop called the Silk Road. She and Dr. Sekiguchi started the Japanese Language Program at the University of Arkansas in 1987. In recent years, Chiko played the dulcimer and was a member of the Ozark Society and was a devoted member of the First United Presbyterian Church. Chiko was one of the cornerstones and a longstanding member of the small Japanese community in Northwest Arkansas and especially close to Tamae Craft and the McCleland family.
Chiko lived a wonderfully rich life surrounded by love and will be profoundly missed and treasured in memory, particularly with her beautiful smile to those who ever knew or met her."
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