Grace Kazuko Arimura

Grace Kazuko Arimura, April 24, 1926-Feb. 5, 2026

Grace Arimura entered the arms of Jesus on Feb. 5, 2026, at the home she shared with her sister in St. Charles, Missouri. In her almost 100 years, Grace made a profound impact as a humanitarian, research scientist and volunteer.

Grace Kazuko Arimura was born April 24, 1926, in Lemoore, California, to Japanese immigrants Yotaro and Aya Arimura. As such she was a proud “Nisei”—a U.S.-born child of Japanese immigrant parents. Grace was the fifth of ten children. Her father was a tenant farmer in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The Arimuras were a happy, close-knit, hard-working, self-sufficient family. They were bound by love and a melding of Japanese and American traditions on their hardscrabble farm.

The Arimuras’ lives were upended in 1942 when 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry in the western U.S. were ordered to report for internment in “relocation camps.” The Arimura family of 11 (her oldest brother was in the U.S. Army) initially was sent to the Fresno (California) Fairgrounds. They then boarded a train for the Jerome Relocation Center in southeastern Arkansas. Grace noted that her family accomplished the massive change in the spirit of “shikata ga nai”—“it can’t be helped.”

As difficult as the relocation camp experience was, Grace later remarked she “never had time to be bitter.” Always on the move, she graduated from high school in the Jerome camp and was released to train as a medical technician in Washington, D.C. Encouraged by a minister she met at the hospital, she attended Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas, after the war, graduating in three years. Grace worked at Washington University in St. Louis as a certified Medical Technologist. She supported her family in St. Charles, Missouri, where they had moved after the war, and paid for her younger sister Rickie to attend Harding College.

From Washington University Grace transferred to the University of Miami, where she worked in cancer research for more than 20 years and retired as an assistant research professor. Her nieces and nephews recall fun-filled trips to Miami to visit Auntie Grace.

Retirement for Grace meant volunteering. At 62 years old she applied for the Peace Corps and served two years in Botswana. Along with teaching in the village of Tutume, she coached the softball teams, mentored the English Club and the school magazine, and started the Drama Club. Returning to the U.S., she served with the Global Volunteers on job projects in Mississippi and Texas. She became a leader in the Cat Network, caring for and adopting stray cats.

Even Hurricane Andrew could not stop Grace. After her house was destroyed in the 1992 storm, she faced recovery with the “shikata ga nai” attitude. She was able to return to her house after three years.

Grace returned to the Midwest to be close to family in Naperville, Illinois, where she had a wide circle of friends. In 2019 she moved back to St. Charles to live with her sister Rickie. The sisters enjoyed each other’s company, with many farm and camp stories being told over card games with dear friends.

Grace had many passions, starting with animals of all kinds. Along with her beloved cats, she always fed the birds. She enjoyed travel, puzzles (especially KenKen) and reading the newspaper every morning.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Tad Arimura, Ken Arimura, Nob Arimura, Sam Arimura and Itsu Arimura; and sisters Yoko Mitani, Ida Ochi and Midori Abe. Surviving to cherish her memory are her sister, Rickie Sewell, St. Charles, Missouri, and 24 nephews and nieces, and their children.

The family wishes to thank Grace’s caregivers for the compassionate care she received in her final year.