Zoe Much Love

My Grandma Zoe Suzuki Passed away yesterday at age 90.  Although she is in a better place reunited with her daughter Jane she will be greatly missed.  She had such beautiful emerald eyes. Although my eyes aren't as pretty as her's, I feel pretty lucky that she passed her green eyes on to me.

We weren't able to go to Farm House in Wyoming this last summer, so we made a special trip to see my Grandparents out in Michigan for Thanksgiving and to celebrate her 90th Birthday.  I love this picture of Isa and Grandma Zoe.  I see pure joy when I look at this picture, and yet feel so heartbroken right now knowing that Isa won't be able to know for herself what a strong and thoughtful Great Grandma she had.  I love that fact that this little farm girl from Alta Wyoming became a nurse and traveled to Japan post WWII where she meet Dr. Mac Suzuki.  They were working on the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) to study the late effects of radiation on the survivors.  They fell in love and upon returning to U.S. got married in California after getting denied in Nevada because they were an inter-racial marriage.  My Grandma was full of adventure, a hard-worker, and lived her life to the fullest.

Here's Grandpa and Isa posting up in Mac's chair watching CNN.  They look pretty cozy them two.  Although she is only 1/8th Japanese she looks it more than I do.  I hope her 1/8th is filled with Grandpa's unconditional kindness and wicked smartness. I remember walking through the canyon and G-Mac started naming all the plants by their common name and scientific name. And then one night while looking up at all the stars he starts spitting out the names of all the constellations.  Then I was blown away when he gave his 20 grandchildren each $1,000 of the $20,000 that the U.S. Government gave to him as an apology for putting him in a concentration camp (internment camp) during WWII.  I never heard him complain about the government or how his family had to sell their land and family business.  All I heard was how as a 3rd year Medical at Berkley student he got a lot of experience doing surgeries in the camps.  And talk about a looker, Grandma didn't have chance when she laid here emerald eyes on him.

We love you Grandma and you will be missed. I always loved how you signed your cards XOXO.  So in your memory XOXO