In Memory of Hiroko - Funeral Services
Donation protected
Hello,
My name is Tiana and my mother Hiroko, recently passed away on August 28th,2021 from cancer.
(photo I took of her and edited when I was 13, at the Haneda Airport in Japan)
She was so strong and had already beat cancer twice between 2014 to 2017. However, her cancer came back in the beginning of 2020 and she lost her fight this year.
Now that i’m looking back, it was almost like she knew she wouldn’t be able to beat it this time and continued to work despite her pain she experienced daily, because its what she loved to do. She always told me she was miserable when she wasn’t able to be productive and do what she loves best…being a Japanese literature teacher. She loved teaching and was so passionate to help her students throughout the many decades at Minato Gakuen, Kokugo Gakuen, and Apple Youchien.
(My mom, Hiroko in the middle - at Minato Gakuen with fellow teachers who are also close friends we consider family)
(2017 - my mom, Hiroko, with fellow Japanese teachers and her class at the Kokugo Gakuen Undokai)
I could see how weak she was becoming and always begged to take her to the hospital but she refused and continued working. It wasn’t until April of this year, after COVID “slowed down” and hospitals allowed visitors to accompany patients that she finally allowed me to take her to the emergency room.
She was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cancer with zero chance of being cured.
In a way, I was angry at first that she waited so long to get help but during her last couple weeks with me on this earth, she mentioned that she didn’t want to be in the hospital during the peak of COVID where hospital restrictions didn't allow visitors.
Her biggest fear was passing away without having me right beside her to hold her hand one last time and say my goodbyes.
(She waited a year to get help so I could be able to have this very moment with her. I was able to be there for her and watch her go and hug her one last time. A moment I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life!)
My mom is such a strong woman who raised me alone in a country she wasn’t born in or raised in and did everything she could to make sure I was always taken care of in every possible way.
Now that i’m older, ALL of her hard work and dedication throughout the 24 years of my life are appreciated more than ever before and hold so much more weight. I say this because I’ve learned, life is not easy or always fun but somehow she always made it look easy and effortless.
Her strength and resilience presented itself in everything she did. Even with her fight against cancer, she fought until her very last breath because giving up was never an option to her. Life just has other plans for us sometimes and made a choice for her.
So, for all of her close friends, friends she considered family, and her sisters back in Japan…please know, she is at peace and so am I.
She told me countless times in the past 3 months that she wasn’t afraid of death. She wasn't sad from knowing she was dying.
She lived a full life! Full of love, laughter, great experiences, happy memories, great adventures and most of all, having amazing people in her corner to call her friends and family.
She is no longer suffering in pain but at peace and that itself, brings me peace.
She will forever be my greatest gift and blessing in this lifetime. I am so thankful to call her my hero, my inspiration, my mother, and now…my guardian angel.
She deserves the very best care and attention for her funeral services so I started this GoFundMe to assist me in giving that to her.
With love,
Tiana
❤️
My name is Tiana and my mother Hiroko, recently passed away on August 28th,2021 from cancer.
(photo I took of her and edited when I was 13, at the Haneda Airport in Japan)
She was so strong and had already beat cancer twice between 2014 to 2017. However, her cancer came back in the beginning of 2020 and she lost her fight this year.
Now that i’m looking back, it was almost like she knew she wouldn’t be able to beat it this time and continued to work despite her pain she experienced daily, because its what she loved to do. She always told me she was miserable when she wasn’t able to be productive and do what she loves best…being a Japanese literature teacher. She loved teaching and was so passionate to help her students throughout the many decades at Minato Gakuen, Kokugo Gakuen, and Apple Youchien.
(My mom, Hiroko in the middle - at Minato Gakuen with fellow teachers who are also close friends we consider family)
(2017 - my mom, Hiroko, with fellow Japanese teachers and her class at the Kokugo Gakuen Undokai)
I could see how weak she was becoming and always begged to take her to the hospital but she refused and continued working. It wasn’t until April of this year, after COVID “slowed down” and hospitals allowed visitors to accompany patients that she finally allowed me to take her to the emergency room.
She was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cancer with zero chance of being cured.
In a way, I was angry at first that she waited so long to get help but during her last couple weeks with me on this earth, she mentioned that she didn’t want to be in the hospital during the peak of COVID where hospital restrictions didn't allow visitors.
Her biggest fear was passing away without having me right beside her to hold her hand one last time and say my goodbyes.
(She waited a year to get help so I could be able to have this very moment with her. I was able to be there for her and watch her go and hug her one last time. A moment I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life!)
My mom is such a strong woman who raised me alone in a country she wasn’t born in or raised in and did everything she could to make sure I was always taken care of in every possible way.
Now that i’m older, ALL of her hard work and dedication throughout the 24 years of my life are appreciated more than ever before and hold so much more weight. I say this because I’ve learned, life is not easy or always fun but somehow she always made it look easy and effortless.
Her strength and resilience presented itself in everything she did. Even with her fight against cancer, she fought until her very last breath because giving up was never an option to her. Life just has other plans for us sometimes and made a choice for her.
So, for all of her close friends, friends she considered family, and her sisters back in Japan…please know, she is at peace and so am I.
She told me countless times in the past 3 months that she wasn’t afraid of death. She wasn't sad from knowing she was dying.
She lived a full life! Full of love, laughter, great experiences, happy memories, great adventures and most of all, having amazing people in her corner to call her friends and family.
She is no longer suffering in pain but at peace and that itself, brings me peace.
She will forever be my greatest gift and blessing in this lifetime. I am so thankful to call her my hero, my inspiration, my mother, and now…my guardian angel.
She deserves the very best care and attention for her funeral services so I started this GoFundMe to assist me in giving that to her.
With love,
Tiana
❤️
Co-organizers (3)
Tiana Luckett
Organizer
San Diego, CA
Kotaro Motomura
Co-organizer
Shizuyo Solis
Co-organizer