Doris Kazuko Nakashima (née: Kojima)
February 15th, 1930 - February 14th, 2025
With deep love and sadness, we share the passing of Doris Kazuko Nakashima, a strong and independent woman who left us peacefully on Friday, February 14th, 2025, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, just one day shy of her 95th birthday.
Doris was born on February 15th, 1930, in Fanny Bay, British Columbia to Kenzo and Kotane Kojima. Her family moved briefly to Hiroshima, Japan but returned to Royston, British Columbia. Due to the internment of Japanese Canadians in World War II, she and her family were relocated to Hastings Park Detention Center in Vancouver, BC. After 6 months the family was then transferred to Tashme Japanese Internment Camp. Post-war Doris and her family moved to Moose Jaw, SK. The Kojima family then moved to Sanford, MB and then settled in Winnipeg, MB. It is in Winnipeg that she attended dressmaking school before meeting her future husband, Bob Nakashima. After they wed Bob and Doris resided in Moose Jaw, filling their home with love, warmth, and quiet strength together for 63 years.
Doris dedicated her life to caring for her family. She found joy in the simple yet profound acts of love by sewing, crocheting, knitting, baking and cooking for those she loved, tending to her bountiful garden, and always putting others before herself. She balanced raising a family with being the bookkeeper and Bob’s right-hand helper at her husband’s business, known as Bob’s Denture Clinic. Doris was active in the UCW at St. Andrews United Church and the school PTA at Victoria School that her children attended. Bob and Doris enjoyed travel to Hawaii and casino bus trips. She enjoyed passing on her culinary talents to her grandchildren. She was an avid reader with a fondness for reading non-fiction. Doris always had a good book on hand to read. She never missed an opportunity to stay informed, always keeping up with current events and informing her family of all the happenings on CNN.
Doris was the heart of her family — she will be remembered for her nurturing ways, kindness and her generosity. She is deeply loved and missed by her daughters, Elaine (Greg) McKeown and Patti (Mark) Gibney; grandchildren: Gary (Trish), Daniel (Zana), Justin (Erin), Michael (Tess), and Kiyomi; and great-grandchildren: Olivia, Rowan, Jada, and Abigail. She leaves behind her sister, Dorothy; brother, Henry (Vivien); along with many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, Bob; brother, Mickey and his wife, Thelma; sister, Kay and her husband, Richard; brother-in-law, Bill; and sister-in-law, Mickey.
Her kindness touched everyone who knew her, and her legacy of love and resilience will live on in the lives she shaped.
Our family would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. V Rininsland and his receptionist Kayla, and June (retired) and Dr. F. Ramadan for their kindness and care afforded to Doris over the years. Your support and compassion meant so much to her and all of us. We would like to sincerely thank Dr. J. Hall, Dr. C. Beaton, and Dr. E. Bortolotti for their exceptional care and guidance. Special thanks to the EMS crew, the Emergency and Medical Unit staff at the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital, and the Palliative Care Team. Your dedication and kindness during this time brought us great comfort. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for everything you have done for Doris and her family.
In honouring Doris’s wishes, a private family interment will take place at a later date.
“There are obstacles in life that sometimes seem so great we don’t know if we have the courage to deal with them. Just know there are people who care deeply and have enough strength, faith and hope for you to lean on whenever you need it.” Adele Basheer
Arrangements are entrusted to Moose Jaw Funeral Home, 268 Mulberry Lane. Shirese Noble Funeral Director 306-693-4550 www.moosejawfuneralhome.com
