Colleen Hatsumi Matsumoto

Colleen Matsumoto, 84, died peacefully in her sleep with her family encircling her with love on Wednesday, March 6th 2024.

Colleen, known as Hatsi to many, passed away after a courageous fight against cancer and lung disease.

She was a remarkable human being whose entire life was characterized by courage, kindness, strength, humility, optimism, and most of all selfless caring and compassion for others.  She embodied altruism, always placing the needs of others before her own.  Having survived the Japanese American internment camps of WWII, she embraced all that lay ahead, in high school winning a statewide science fair and becoming an accomplished first chair violinist in her local orchestra, and then at UC Berkeley as a Zoology major where she “could study all the critters” that she so enjoyed.  Graduating from UC San Francisco with a physical therapy degree, she embarked on a career of service, spending most of her 50-year career working in an adult day healthcare center providing therapy to disabled adults who could not afford to pay.

When asked what she loved most about her career, Colleen said that it was the look on the faces of those whom she had helped to recover an ability such as walking or self-care that they’d never thought they would have again.  Colleen’s work also blessed her with a circle of treasured friends, like-mined strong women who called themselves the “breakfast gang” and who supported and encouraged each other over several decades.

Colleen cared not only for the poor and uninsured but also for her family, in ways big and small.  She limited her career initially to care full-time for her mother-in-law for many years, then her parents, brother-in-law, and husband as each in turned needed her help.  In her family, she was a reliable source of practical wisdom and guidance for many.  She taught her children her own hard-earned life lessons such as “Happiness is a choice you get to make,” “Being smart is not the same as having common sense,” “Always hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” “Family is most important,” and “We must give back to the community and always help others.”  That family and community to which she gave so much also became a gift for Colleen and her family, creating many good times and happy memories.

Colleen lived with magnificent heart and spirit.  She has made our world a better place, and while the steady beat of her heart has stopped, her spirit flows strongly through all those who have had the good fortune to know and to love her.

Colleen is survived by her husband of 62 years, Alan, their two children, Julie (Nic)and Michael (Jennifer), and their grandchildren AJ, Nathan, and Zachary.

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