Grace Kasai

Forever the epitome of her name, Grace Kasai will be remembered by all who knew her as the sweetest example of gentility and kindness. She passed away peacefully on March 8, 2014 while surrounded by family.
Born in Salt Lake City on August 20, 1921 to Tokusaku and Kame Furukawa Sueoka, Grace was the eldest of eight siblings. She attended school in Salt Lake City and lived with the Kawamura family after her family moved to Tooele. An accomplished student and musician, Grace was first in her class at West High (class of ‘39) and played the violin, piano, and okoto.
Following graduation, Grace began attending LDS Business College and soon thereafter met a fun-loving anthropology major at the University of Utah named Seiko Murakami Kasai. They were engaged before he left for war and spent the next few years courting each other from opposite sides of the Pacific. They were married on May 14, 1948.
Grace and Seiko shared a lifetime together filled with travel, bowling, and golf. She retired from Workforce Service (formerly Utah State Employment Security) after many years of service and was a very active committee member of the JACL most of her career.
Forever the doting aunt, Grace lovingly assumed the role of mother to her nephew, Paul and her niece, Linda following the death of her sister, Kyoko. She would then become the surrogate grandmother to Stephanie, Christopher, and Marisa and great-grandmother to their eleven children.
During the final years of her life, Grace was under the loving care of her niece Linda (Wesley) Olson and nephew Paul Tanabe. Special thanks as well to the tremendous staff at CareSoure Home Health and Hospice for their tender attention during the final weeks of her life.
She was preceded in death by parents Tokusaku and Kame, husband Seiko; brother Rhu; sisters and brothers-in-law Kyoko and Isamu Tanabe, Sumiko and Theodore Fujiki, Lillian Sueoka, Joanne Sueoka, Yosh Kato, Mitsugi Kasai; niece Linda Tanabe Olson and nephew Cory Fujiki.
Grace is survived by her brother, Joe Sueoka (Mary Louise); sister, Akiko Kato; sister-in law Sumi Sueoka; and many nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 15th at 4:00 p.m. at Mountain View Memorial Mortuary & Cemetery (3115 East 7800 South in Salt Lake City). Friends and family may call at the mortuary earlier that day from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.deseretmortuary.com, Funeral Directors: Deseret Mortuary