Setsuko Takechi Perry, a resident of Los Angeles, passed away on

June 20, 2022, at the age of 93. She was born in Matsuyama, Japan,

on February 4, 1929; and raised in both Imabari and Matsuyama,

where her parents, Fusae and Kiheita Takechi, were landowners.

She was the youngest of five children; her siblings include Shigeki,

Misao, Sumiko, and Haruko. She married Lemo Houston in 1954

after a nine-year courtship. In Kansas, they raised three children —

George, Rika, and Velina. Lemo preceded her in death in 1969. In

1976, she remarried Homer L. Perry who preceded her in death in

1992, after which she moved to California to be with her daughters.

Setsuko lived in California for three decades. She has six

grandchildren; (from oldest to youngest) Kiyoshi, Shintaro, Leilani,

Makoto, and Maya. In her lifetime, she traveled to many cities in

Japan and the U.S. including Kyoto, Tokyo, Yokohama, Honolulu,

Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Denver, Saint Louis,

Birmingham, and New York. She is the inspiration for the play,

"Tea," written by Velina; and is the subject of several documentary

films in Japan, produced by NHK, Mainichi Hoso, and Television

Tokyo. A private family service is being held in her honor,

officiated by the Reverend Duncan Ryūken Williams.