Katoko Sax
April 8, 1934-Feb. 23, 2013
Palo Alto, California
Submitted by Kenji Sax

Katoko Sax passed away peacefully surrounded by her family after a long battle with cancer.

Born and raised in Japan, Katoko?s sense of adventure brought her to Central Michigan University in 1958 to study economics. It was there that she first met her husband, Ron, and then spent the next 50 years as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and steward of the environment. More than 40 of those years were in Palo Alto in the neighborhood she loved.

Throughout her adult life, she sought to give a voice to those who had no voice, and to bring peace to places where there is none. She was an active member of the Palo Alto Friends Meeting, the Funeral Education Foundation, and the Peace Alliance which is dedicated to the establishment of a federal Department of Peace.

Her passion for life extended beyond her family and friends, and her interests were as diverse as learning Chinese and Italian, soroban, and tap-dancing. She was an excellent artist, and could draw, paint or play the piano expertly.

In her later years, there was nothing she enjoyed more than traveling with her husband and seeing her children, Kenji (Cindy Lamerson) and Naomi (Neil Simmons), and four grandsons, Nathan, Joel, Nicky, and Scott. Her devotion to her family, inner strength, appreciation of beauty in all its forms and passion for life will be dearly missed by the many people who knew and loved her.