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Marion E. (Smithback) Miyagawa
Miyagawa, Marion E. (Smithback)
MADISON - We bid "Aloha Oe" to our wonderful mother, loving grandma, sister,
auntie and great friend. Marion E. Miyagawa (Smithback), passed from this life
on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006. She was the fourth of nine children born to Neil
and Anna (Bogenschneider) Smithback on July 12, 1922, in Utica, (Christiana
Township. The early depression years, in the quaint village of Cambridge were
lean for a family with nine children. Marion came to admire the simplest things
in life. Her appreciation of nature and good company sustained her throughout
life. Upon graduation from Cambridge High School, in a class of 22, in 1941, at
only age 18, Marion left home with a silver dollar to her name. She walked all
the way to Madison to stay with sisters in a small downtown Madison apartment.
She began working for Rennebohms at their original location near the old
University Hospital. She took a second job at Rayovac during the war. She later
transferred to the State and Lake Street location, where she served as fountain
manager for many years. It was here that she met her future husband, Richard
Miyagawa, an NCAA champion from the Hawaiian Islands who had been sponsored by
UW Boxing Coach, John Walsh to come and join the UW Boxing team after spending a
year in a Japanese relocation camp. A young pharmacist at "Rennies," Robert
Hammel, also on the boxing team urged Marion to agree to a date with Miyagawa.
These were the beginnings of a lifelong friendship that found the Hammels and
Miyagawa's living only a house apart for the last 35 years. The granddaughter of
a Norwegian "Viking" woman, Marion was quite a pioneer in her own right. When
Miyagawa joined the Army in 1945, Marion and her sister made the train ride to
Macon, Ga., to visit Miyagawa, where Dick and Marion married in the Army Chapel
before he shipped out for Europe. This marriage would be repeated years later
after learning of an "interracial marriage ban" in some southern states,
including Georgia. The couple would face opposition on both sides of the family
for their decision to marry. Marion held her head high amidst discrimination and
stood by her man as they moved to Hawaii and back to Madison again in search of
a place they felt welcomed. Unselfishly, she dedicated the rest of her life to
her family and friends. She was the "good woman behind her man" and the mother
who made sure the tools, transportation and her time were always available,
without hesitation for her children. She was the friend who took time to listen
and would jump at the chance to help out in a time of need. Her hands were
always busy, a creative and talented woman, she was an expert chair caner, she
knit, crocheted, quilted and threw a pretty good pot. Marion loved birds and
gardening. She'd curse at the squirrels in her feeders, but sneak food to them
anyway. She loved all children, a good western, whales, raccoons and dogs. The
thing she loved most was a houseful of people. Many hold great memories of good
times in Marion's kitchen. We will miss her energy, her unconditional love, her
feistiness, but most of all, the way her smile would light up her face when
she'd greet you. She had a way of making you feel like you were most special,
always putting others before herself. Marion enjoyed 56 years of marriage with
Dick, before losing him to Alzheimer's, in 2001. Also preceding her in death,
were her parents; a stillborn son; sisters, Genevieve, Dorothy and Lucille; and
brothers, Nestor, Gene and Jon. She is survived by sister, Bernice Mickelson of
Edgerton; brother, Albert (Ann) of Deforest; and many nieces, nephews and
numerous friends. She is further survived by her son, Jon Dee (Tonie),
grandchildren, Alisha (Clint Austin) of Two Harbors and Jeremy of Brooklyn;
daughter, Judy (Dan McCarthy), grandchildren, Shane (Sara) McCarthy and Brandon
McCarthy of Madison; son, Rick (Marsha) and grandchildren, Richard and Bennett
of Verona. We invite family and friends to join us in celebrating her life on
Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006, at the VISITOR CENTER AT HENRY VILAS ZOO. Visitation will
be from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m., with a special time for remembering at 3:30 p.m.
Memorial gifts in Marion's name can be made to the Henry Vilas Park Zoological
Society, 606 S. Randall Ave., Madison, WI 53715.
Mom, we will never forget you, we thank you and we will love you forever. "Aloha
Oe, til we meet again."
Wisconsin State Journal, Saturday, October 21, 2006