May Akiyama

May Sumiye Akiyama passed away at home with family on June 21, 2022. She was born on May 16, 1928 to Kentaro and Shige Nodzu (Notsu) in Helper, Utah; the third of eight children. She spent her childhood in several small mining towns in Carbon County, mostly in Spring Canyon, Utah. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, May’s father was laid off from his job along with all Japanese miners that had access to explosives. The family moved to Utah County to farm. May graduated from Lincoln High School in Orem, Utah in 1946. Thereafter, she moved to Salt Lake City and worked various jobs including waitressing at the Mayflower Café and working as a retail clerk at Adrien ‘n Emilie. In 1959, she married Masao Akiyama, her husband of 58 years.
May settled at Kimball Electronics, Inc. where she worked for 40 years, mostly as a bookkeeper. After retiring in 2011 at the age of 83, she enjoyed babysitting her grandsons and cooking many family dinners. May served for a time on the board of the Mount Olympus Chapter of JACL, treasurer for the Dharma School at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, and spent many years volunteering for both organizations. She also enjoyed bowling, going to University of Utah basketball games and gymnastics meets, and watching sports on TV and plays at Broadway at the Eccles.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Mas, siblings Martha Okawa, Ken Nodzu, and Gay Higashi; brothers- in-law Rintaro Akiyama, Paul Higashi, Shintaro Kamaya, Oscar Misaka and Lloyd Okawa and sisters-in-law Hiroko Akiyama, Shizuko Kamaya, and Kathy Nodzu. May is survived by daughter Diane (Ray Nishikawa); grandsons Marcus, Brian and Eric; siblings Yayoi Misaka and Reiko (Byron) Watanabe of Salt Lake City, UT, Yoshiko (Tom) Guzman, Monterey Park, CA, Tom Nodzu, Boise, ID; sister-in-law Dawn Nodzu and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank Miwa and Pam and the rest of the staff at Auburn Crest Home Health and Hospice for their love and care.
A funeral service will be held Monday July 11, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at Memorial Mountain View Mortuary, 3115 East 7800 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Friends may call at a viewing at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow the service. We ask those in attendance to wear face masks.
Service Information
Viewing July 11, 2022 at 1:00 PM
Memorial Mountain View





Funeral Service
July 11, 2022 at 2:00 PM
Memorial Mountain View