SAKAE OGAKI (nee GOTO)
Sakae passed away peacefully after a short hospital stay. She is survived by her sisters Yaeki Frances Nakamura and Tomoko Yoshida. She was predeceased by her husband Tsuyoshi Chips Ogaki. She was also predeceased by her parents Yasukichi and Miyoshi Goto; siblings Naoe Nellie Yoshida, Teruji Tin Goto and Masaye Anne Pickard; in-laws Bill Nakamura, Tak Yoshida, Kay Goto, Jake Yoshida and Hugh Pickard; and step-daughter Elaine (Ogaki) Reid. Auntie Saka will be dearly missed by her nieces and nephews from the Nakamura, Yoshida, Goto and Ogaki families. She will also be sorely missed by Joyce (nee Ogaki) and John Meehan, her grandchildren Don Reid, Cass Meehan, Sean Meehan, and their families.
Sakae was born in New Westminster, BC and grew up on Strawberry Hill. She was interned in Slocan City with her mother and siblings. After the war, the family first lived in Chatham before moving to Toronto. She attended secretarial school and then worked at Citadel Assurance for 40 years before retiring. She was a founding member of the Toronto Japanese Garden Club and continued to do Ikebana until covid put a halt to the classes at the Toronto Buddhist Church. She was the TBC Sunday School kindergarten teacher for many years and led youth activities, especially arts and crafts. She spent weeks as the camp counsellor at Camp Lumbini, Wasaga Beach.
She was an avid bowler and after meeting Chips, took up skiing and golfing in her 50’s. She embraced the Ogaki family when she married Chips, relishing her role as doting grandmother and great-grandmother. She continued to volunteer at the TBC doing flower arrangements and helping with the annual bazaar to name a few activities. She was always willing to help out and bring a delicious dish to gatherings. She was fiercely independent, living on her own and driving until a broken leg put her into the hospital.
There will be a visitation at Pine Hills Cemetery on Tuesday, April 19 from 4:00-8:00pm. A funeral service will be held at the Toronto Buddhist Church on Wednesday, April 20 at 1:30pm. To view the live-streamed funeral service, please contact the TBC at 416-534-4302. Online condolences can be made through https://mountpleasantgroup.permavita.com/site/SakaeOgaki.html. In lieu of flowers or koden, please consider a donation in her memory to the Toronto Buddhist Church, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Momiji Health Society or a charity of your choice.