Kuniko Ikemori Okamoto

Kuniko Ikemori Okamoto, age 94, was born August 13, 1931, and was raised in Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, and passed on April 26, 2026, in Carmel, Indiana. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Howard Kazuo Okamoto. She is survived by her three children, Kelvin, Kathleen, and Karlton (Lucy), and her cherished grandchildren, Trevor, Kirsten, Everett, and Raku. She is also survived by her sister Janet and brother George.

Kuniko had five sisters and two brothers growing up, moved to Honolulu in 1949 to work as a secretary-bookkeeper, and started attending night classes at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. With a scholarship from an unknown donor, Kuniko then attended Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington) starting in 1953 to study business law. Kuniko then transferred to the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan) to study speech pathology, where she graduated with a BS. She was one of five who graduated from this competitive program

After college. Kuniko returned to Hawaii and worked as a secretary at Fort Shafter, where she met and married Howard Okamoto on November 1, 1958. After a brief stint in Palo Alto, California, the family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and then to Dresher, Pennsylvania, in 1962, where their children spent most of their school years. Kuniko worked as a speech therapist for the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and was primarily assigned to the Hatboro-Horsham School District. Concurrently, Kuniko attended Trenton State University (Trenton, New Jersey) and graduated with an MS in speech pathology.

In 1978, Kuniko and her family moved back to Palo Alto, California, and then with Howard to Napa, California. Kuniko was proud of having worked with several school districts and at the Stanford Speech and Language Clinic while in Palo Alto, and taught English to JAL pilots and families who trained at the Napa airport. She finally retired in 2010 at 79 years old, from the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, California, where she worked with veterans to recover speech skills after strokes, etc.

While doing all this, to fulfill a sweet tooth dream of Kuniko’s, Kuniko and Howard owned and managed an ice cream and candy store in Napa, CA, which was visited by Julia Child! Additionally, Kuniko had a prolific green thumb, grew many, many orchids, was an AAUW member, and formed gourmet clubs wherever she lived.

Since leaving Napa, Kuniko and Howard lived in locations near each of her children, in Mountain View, in Leisure World, Seal Beach, California, until a year after her husband’s passing, and then in various locations in Orange County, California, and her final move to Carmel, Indiana, in 2019.

Kuniko passed away peacefully on April 26, 2026, at Story Cottage in Carmel, Indiana. Kuniko will be reunited with Howard at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California, on Monday, July 20, 2026, at 10:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, please mail donations in Kuniko Okamoto's name to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 13770 Noel Road, Suite 801889, Dallas, TX 75380, or submit online at komen.org.

A Celebration of Life will be held at El Dorado Park, 2760 North Studebaker Road, Long Beach, CA 90815, on Sunday, July 19, 2026, in the afternoon. Please email Kelvin, Kathleen, or kunikocelebration@gmail.com for more details.

Aaron-Ruben-Nelson Funeral Home is handling arrangements in Indiana.