SMYTH, Tomiko Sato - March 26, 1938 – November 9, 2020 - It is with very great sadness that we report Tomiko’s death as a result of the untreatable spread of an aggressive cancer.
Tomiko was born in Fukushima Prefecture in Japan to Tomizo and Toku Sato.
She grew up in a family with two older brothers and two younger sisters. Life for a young family during the war was difficult, but the city, an administrative centre far away from Tokyo, was not a frequent target and her father, an active member of the civilian police force, was at home.
While in Jacksonville she met Jeffrey Smyth, a fellow student in the International House. Six years later they were married in England and returned to the United States for a brief stay in Princeton, NJ, before moving to Toronto, where they have lived ever since.
Before her son Peter was born, Tomiko worked full time as secretary to the head of the Toronto Reference Library, and then part time in the library, almost 20 years in total. She sang in the Trillium Choir, Toronto’s Japanese ladies’ choir, was a member of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, and supported many of Toronto’s arts and cultural organizations.
Tomiko is survived by Jeffrey, her loving husband of 55 years, and she will be greatly missed by her son Peter and his wife Lin, by her three grandsons, Nate, Liam and Jake, and by two sisters and a brother who still live in Fukushima.
When appropriate in the new year, details of a reception for friends and relatives to celebrate Tomiko’s life will be announced.
In thanks for their kind care, donations may be made to donate.sunnybrook.ca/palliativecare or to a charity of your choice.
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