Reiko Walston

Reiko Walston of Elk Grove California passed away surrounded by family on 8/13/2024 at Kaiser Hospital South Sacramento, the victim of a tragic car accident.

Reiko was born in Bunkyo city Tokyo 01/29/1932 to Yoshio and Ena Koyama and moved to Odawara during World War II to avoid the allied bombing campaigns.  Her family eventually settled in Yokohama city.  In 1952 Reiko sailed aboard the Hikawa Maru to Seattle as a foreign exchange student and met Kenneth Walston at the University of Idaho.  They were married in 1958 at El Cerrito California.  As the wife of a US Naval officer, she traveled around the world with duty stations in Alameda and San Diego CA, Clark AB Philippines, Fort Monmouth NJ, Pearl Harbour HI, Monterey CA, and Taipei Taiwan.  She eventually settled in Elk Grove California.

As a devoted wife, mother, and patriotic Japanese American, Reiko was very proud of her Japanese ancestry and was a passionate practitioner of Japanese arts including tea ceremony, ikebana, and Calligraphy.  She loved flowers, bird watching, cats and animals of all sorts.  She also loved traveling and took many trips to Las Vegas, Reno, Honolulu, Japan, Los Angeles, and Disney Land.  She also loved to watch Japanese Samurai movies and listen to Enka music.  She will always be remembered as a kind, compassionate, and generous soul who was always willing to help those in need.

Reiko is survived by her loving Ohana.  May she rest in peace and the kindness of her heart remain eternal.