Sy Uyesugi

Sy had an unexpected heart attack and died three days later on June 12, 2025.

She was born, (Sy) Hisae Mitoma, in Independence, Oregon, April 1926. She spent her childhood growing up on the Mitoma Hop Yard until World War II when she was interned in the Tule Lake Relocation Camp and later moved to the Minidoka Relocation Center. After the war she spent a short time in Spokane, Washington then moved to Portland, Oregon in 1946 where she raised three sons, Tom, Bill, and Jim.

As her sons grew older, she went back to work and got a job with the Veterans Administration in their clerical staff and later as an adjudicator. She worked for the VA for 23 years before retiring.

Sy loved her home in North Portland, where she lived for nearly 70 years, and spent a lot of her time gardening in the yard, and making sure the house was well maintained. She had decided long before her passing, that she wanted to spend the rest of her life living in her home. This was the place she raised her family, and visited her grandchildren (Joel, Kevin, Michelle, and Brian) and great granddaughter (Rei),and got to know many good neighbors. She also said that walking up and down the stairs, to her bedroom upstairs, and laundry, in the basement, was keeping her healthy.

In lieu of flowers or koren, please consider contributing to Ikoi No Kai at 1333 S.E. 28th Ave, Portland, Oregon, 97214.