Obituary of Mutsuko Kumai

Mutsuko Kumai, 93, passed away peacefully on April 29, 2015. She came to the United States from Sapporo, Japan in 1959 to join her husband, Motoi Kumai, who had been invited the previous year as an exchange professor of physics at the University of Chicago. Mutsuko Kumai with a kind and gentle spirit loved her life as a wife, mother and grandmother. She was a talented artisan who enjoyed cooking for family and friends and loved music, especially the works of Mahler and song cycles of Schubert. We will cherish the memories of her love, warmth, and grace. She was related to Sakamoto Ryoma, an activist and visionary of the Meiji Restoration Period, who inspired to modernize Japan while keeping Japanese culture and spirit intact. She was predeceased by her husband of 65 years. She is survived by two daughters, Keiko Ihara of Burnt Hills, NY and Etsuko Azar of Winchendon, MA; granddaughter, Marisa Amory of Portland, ME; grandsons, Ken Ihara of Melbourne, Australia, Samuel Azar of Washington DC, Zachary Azar of Boston, MA and great grandchildren, Alexander and Kevin Ihara, Agatha and Elise Amory. A private family service is planned.