Mitsuko (Mitzi) Miyawaki died peacefully at home on July 19, 2021 after suffering from chronic dementia for a few years.  Mitzi was born on August 12, 1926 in Penryn, California to Kiichi Tsuchii and Asako (Kuroda) Tsuchii of Japan.  She was the youngest in a family of five children (Hatsuo, Kyoko, Hisako, Kiyoshi and Mitsuko).  She married Tomio Miyawaki in October of 1955, and they had two sons, Stanley (b.1956) and David (b.1960).

Growing up, Mitzi lived and worked on the family farm and orchard in Penryn, a small community east of Sacramento, California.  Throughout the 1930's the family prospered, but in 1942, at the age of 15, Mitzi's life took a dramatic turn when the entire Tsuchii family was sent to and imprisoned in the federal government's internment camp at Tule Lake, California.  The family would remain in the camp for the duration of World War II.  While in camp, Mitzi attended high school and worked in the community mess hall.

When the war ended in 1945, the Tsuchii family found their way to Los Angeles with the hopes of rebuilding their lives.  They purchased and occupied an apartment building on Eighth Street near downtown LA.  It was while living in this new city, that Mitzi met Tomio Miyawaki, a young pharmacist from Utah.  In 1955, Tom and Mitzi married and moved to the west side of Los Angeles, to the suburb of Culver City.  Their first child, Stanley, was born in 1956, followed by a second son, David, in 1960.

Mitzi settled into the life of a typical American homemaker of the 1960's.  Her older sister, Hisako, her husband, George Shintaku, and their two children lived close by, and the two families would spend several years socializing at gatherings, and going on fishing trips and excursions to theme parks.  As Mitzi settled into her new suburban life, she maintained some of her rural upbringing.  She loved to cook family meals at home and continued to sew her own clothing.

As her sons grew older, Mitzi felt the need to work outside of the home.  So in the 1980's she began working at Beverly Hills High School in their food services department.  She worked for several years until her retirement in the 1990's.  In retirement, Tom and Mitzi would often take trips to Las Vegas with George and Hisako, and occasional trips to Utah to visit Tom's relatives.

Mitsuko is survived by her sons Stanley Miyawaki, Santa Monica, CA and David Miyawaki, Culver City, CA; niece, Linda Miyagawa (Steve), Daly City, CA; nephew, Steve Shintaku (Marianne), Glendale, CA; niece, Marlene Tsuchii-Dalston (Christopher), Los Angeles, CA; and many nieces and nephews on her husband's side of the family.

Preceded in death by husband, Tomio Miyawaki; father, Kiichi Tsuchii; mother, Asako Tsuchii; brother, Hatsuo Tsuchii; sister, Kyoko Kono (George, deceased); sister, Hisako Shintaku (George, deceased); brother, Kiyoshi Tsuchii (Sachiko, deceased).