Michiko "Mickey" Tanaka passed away peacefully at home with her family on January 11, 2015. She was born on December 21, 1924 in El Centro, California to Kyujiro and Tsune Kikumoto. Mickey was the second of eight children, five girls and three boys. The family farmed in the Imperial Valley where Mickey attended Lantana Elementary School and Imperial High School. She was not able to graduate with her class due to being relocated to the internment camp, Poston, in May 1942. During the war she kept busy by working in the Block Manager's office and taught kindergarten. Always being creative, she took flower arrangement and shuji (Japanese calligraphy) classes.

When the camp closed, Mickey found work as a maid with two families until she decided to live with her family. To help the family, she found a clerical job and pursued a certificate of graduation from the Los Angeles Costume Design School.

In 1950, she met Henry Tanaka, a young farmer, whom she married on January 27, 1951. They had three children, moved to Oxnard, and became active in the community. She was very active at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple, was involved with Girl and Boy Scouts, volunteered at the 1986 Olympics, and took more flower arranging classes in addition to upholstery. Mickey was a lifelong learner and had the talent to create beautiful art. She sewed, knitted, crocheted, embroidered, quilted, and made all of her own clothes. Many of her creations were entered in the Ventura County Fair which earned her blue ribbons. She was well known for her baked goods, which she shared with friends and family.

Mickey loved to travel and was able to see relatives in Japan, saw our nation's capital, and made a trip to Europe. There were frequent, fun trips to Las Vegas. When Henry was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she cared for him and stayed close to home.

Mickey is survived by her husband, Henry Tanaka, daughter Deanna Sakai, sons Stanley (Joy) Tanaka and Larry (Sue) Tanaka. She had five grandchildren; Amber, Jamee, and Scott Sakai, Michelle and Cindy Tanaka, and two great grandchildren; Kingston and Paisley Sakai. Her siblings are Sadano Abe, Estuko Nakano, Yasuko Nakahara, Fusae Nishina, Shigeko Hirai, Ichiro (Marcia) Kikumoto, and Hideo, (Jeannette) Kikumoto. She has several nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and friends. Her brother–in-laws are Teruo Tanaka and Akira Tanaka. Sister-in-laws include Tomoye Tanaka, Kiyoko Tanaka, Hideko Kanamori, and Misako Burton. Mickey was preceded in death by her parents, in-laws, Heijiro and Shima Tanaka; brother-in-laws Masaru Abe, Nick Nakano, Toru Nakahara, Todd Nishina, Shigeo Tanaka, Tadao Tanaka and sister-in-laws Barbara Tanaka and Chizuko Tanaka.

Thank you to her caregivers, Amy, Maribeth, Angie, Alice, Marie and Esther who were wonderful and always so caring. Also to Buenavista Hospice, thank you for your help and support.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Buena Vista Butterfly foundation, 143 Triunfo Canyon Road, #103, Westlake Village, CA 91361 or Oxnard Buddhist Temple. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, January 31 at 11:00 AM at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple located at 250 South H Street, Oxnard.