Tetsuko "Tess" (nee Mochinaga)Suzumoto, passed away peacefully on January 12, 2011, at the age of 92, in her home at Nikkei Senior Gardens in Arleta, California.

Tetsuko was born on May 31, 1918, in Los Angeles, California, to Fusao and Hatsu Mochinaga. Tetsuko attended Breed St. Elementary and Hollenbeck Middle School in Boyle Heights before being sent to Japan in 1932 with her sisters in the depths of the U.S. Depression. She graduated from high school and secretarial college in Japan. Tetsuko was fluent in both English and Japanese and worked with the American Occupation Forces in Tokyo before returning to California in 1947.

In 1949, Tetsuko married Tetsuo "Ted" Suzumoto in Los Angeles. They enjoyed 51 years of marriage together until Ted's passing in 2000. The oldest of four children, Tetsuko was predeceased by her sisters Yuriko Mochinaga and Nobuko Urata, and brother Kakuro "Robert" Mochinaga. Tetsuko is survived by her daughter, Julia (John) Hiraishi of Camarillo, sons Bruce (Jennifer) Suzumoto of Portland, Oregon, and Mark (Sonia) Suzumoto of Westlake Village, grandchildren Jay Hiraishi, Joi Hiraishi (Erick) Kuskie, John Suzumoto, Thomas Suzumoto, and Luke Suzumoto, great grandchildren Mikayla, Brayden, Jayde, and Kaylee Kuskie, and many nephews, nieces, and extended family members in both America and Japan.

A memorial service and celebration for Tetsuko Suzumoto will be conducted at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, January 21, at the San Fernando Valley Holiness Church, 9610 Haddon Avenue, Pacoima, California.