Toyoko Nakaema Dahlgren

1932-2023

Toyoko "Toy", was born in1932 in Maegawa, Tamagushiku-son, Okinawa, to Yuichi Nakaema and Taru Nakaema.  She never knew her actual birthday, so she just made one up.  Her mother Taru, passed away when Toy was 6 years old; it was then she began helping her father work in the sweet potato, sugar cane, and rice fields along with her younger brother, Usa.     She grew up in a house with no electricity or plumbing where they cooked over an open fire, she only achieved a 4th grade education.

She was 12 years old in x1944 when she was sold by her father for 100 yen to a businessman from Nagasaki, Japan to work in a textile factory.   This was just one year prior to the atomic bomb being dropped.  World War II was a frightening time for everyone, especially for a 13-year-old girl, alone in a city she didn't know, with no family around her.  When the sirens would sound, she would hide in the tunnels around the city.  She witnessed so much death and destruction, yet supported herself through hard work and determination, saving every penny to be able to move back home.

She was finally able to move back to Okinawa when she was 18, she was blessed with the birth of her first child, Emiko "Amy".

She met Edward Park while he was in the army and stationed at Fort Buckner, NAHA, Okinawa and they were married in 1955. While in the military they bounced from Japan, to Illinois, Kansas Oklahoma, on to Germany, and finally settling in Lakewood, Washington where she would spend the rest of her life.  She said the hardest things to adjust to in the United States were the language, driving, and learning the American dollar- something that many natural-born citizens also seem to struggle with.

She had 6 children in 10 years starting with Emiko "Amy", then in consecutive order:  Mary, Mara, James, Robert, and Linda.  She was determined to give her children a better life with sacrifice, resilience, and courage.  Her children came before everything else.

Toyoko became a US citizen on September 11, 1963, in Lawton, Oklahoma, which was a happy and memorable occasion for her.

She worked in various GS positions in California and Washington:  Madigan Army Hospital at Fort Lewis and at the VA in Lakewood, retiring in 1993 after 30 years of service.

In 1986 she and Edward divorced.  She then married Mike Dahlgren in 1987, who was the love of her life and filled her world with such joy. Together, they loved visiting the local casinos as well as bus trips down to Reno.  Toyoko also loved to crochet, garden, cook, bake, fish, and crab.  Her biggest passion in life was being around her family, kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, and their mutual love for each other which she cherished.

She was a Phoenix who rose through the ashes and should be an inspiration to anyone hoping to overcome adversity.  She never lost the ability to smile, even in her darkest days.

Toy was preceded in death by her parents, husband Mike, and daughter, Mara Rose Best.

She is survived by her children, Amy Lindley, of Lakewood, WA,  Mary Reesor, of Orem, UT, James Park, of South Jordan, UT, Robert Park, of Saratoga Springs, UT, and Linda Almeida, or Port Orchard, WA and 23 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren, 12 great-great-grandchildren.

A private viewing will be held at New Tacoma Cemetery, Chambers Creek Chapel on Friday, December 29th at 10:00 am, followed by the service at 11:00.  Internment afterward, 9212 Chambers Creek, University Place, WA.  Please join us at a reception at Mark and Linda Almeida's home in Port Orchard, following the service