Yoshie Matsumoto Fujii Obituary (1923 - 2021)

Yoshie Matsumoto Fujii passed away February 22, 2021 peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family. There is some debate over her actual birthdate. Her father said she was born on January 31, 1923, but the State of Idaho claims her birthday was February 1, 1923. Some years we celebrated on both days. She was the fourth oldest of ten children born in Middleton, Idaho to Morio Matsumoto and Hayako Inaba Matsumoto. She met George Yasuyuki Fujii at a Japanese American Citizens League convention in Boise, Idaho. They corresponded, courted, fell in love and later were married in the First Methodist Church of Caldwell, Idaho on February 25, 1949. She moved to Murray, Utah to join George where they raised two daughters. They also grew row crops to sell at a fruit stand on their property at 900 East. Later George went on to become a real estate appraiser and Yoshie became manager at the National JACL Credit Union. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on May 3, 1973. She enjoyed fishing at Strawberry Reservoir and Fish Lake with George. When they retired they made yearly golfing trips to San Diego and to St. George but the time spent with her family was what brought her the most joy. Yoshie found ways to continue gardening as she planted Ambrosia Corn in rows behind her home and cucumbers, beans, and Momotaro Tomatoes amidst the roses, irises and flower containers in her yard. She loved handicrafts and from a young age she sewed clothing for her siblings, her mother and her own children. Her most recent projects were sewing masks to protect her family from Covid-19 as well as helping to sew 300 masks for the Relief Society Humanitarian Project. She was a devotee of crossword puzzles, Jazz games and Fox News. Her home was filled with delicious smells of homemade food and she taught her daughters and granddaughters to cook authentic Japanese dishes. She is survived by her daughters Vicki (James) Matsumori and Doris (Scott) Freebairn; her grandchildren Jessica (Dave) Wagner, Dustin (Bethany) Matsumori, Brittany (Brandon) Knighton, Kathryn (Luke) Hogan, Alyson Freebairn; and seven great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by her husband George, her parents, her brothers Tad and Jun Matsumoto and sisters May (Harry) Matsui and Irene (Charles) Yamada. Thank you to friends, family and neighbors who stopped by or sent cards of support to her these past months. Special thanks goes to her caregivers Tauvaga Sauni and Kumiko Talmadge as well as to the Intermountain Hospice team for their great care of Yoshie during these past eight months. Yoshie hated the pandemic and how it prevented her from seeing her family and how it limited her daily trips to the grocery and thrift stores. However, she would have been happy that it provided a good excuse for us to follow her wishes for a private service with her immediate family. She will be interred at the Murray City Cemetery.