June “Kaneko” Nishikawa
June passed away peacefully on June 18, 2023, at her home in Davis CA in the loving presence of son Mark Nishikawa and daughter Sharon Nishikawa.
June was born on June 5, 1925, in Alameda County, California, to father Norikazu Kaneko and mother Kitoe (Igaki) Kaneko.
June’s parents were first-generation immigrants from Japan. June and her little brother Teruo “Ted” Kaneko grew up in the Hayward CA area.
During World War II, June’s family was interned at the Tule Lake Relocation Center in Northern California near the Oregon border. There she met her future husband, Hiroshi “Hiro” Nishikawa.
In 1948 June and Hiro were married and built a life together farming and living in Liberty Island, Moore Tract, and the Dixon and Davis area. In the mid-fifties, they were able to build their first home on a parcel of land just north of Dixon. There, June and Hiro raised five children who attended school in Dixon.
June was known as a generous, kind, and friendly person. She was always helping out younger people and was especially good to those who came from other countries. She would often say that if my children were in a different country, I would want someone there to be nice to them.
In 2008, the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco honored June with a commendation in recognition of the numerous guests from Japan that she and Hiro entertained. Starting around the mid-1960s, this would continue to the present day even after Hiro’s passing in 1996. She formed many lasting friendships with people from Kagome Co., Ltd., a Japanese food processing company.
June lived a full life of travel, hobbies, and socializing with friends. She loved to meet new people and met many on her travels to Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Italy, Mexico, Canada, and Greece. She loved bowling, especially in leagues, and the socializing that went with it. Happily, she was able to pursue this activity until she was 85.
For many of her later years, June loved to watch Korean dramas. Meeting some of the stars of those shows during a studio tour was the highlight of her trip to Korea.
June was preceded in death by her father Norikazu Kaneko, her mother Kitoe (Igaki) Kaneko, her husband Hiro, and brother Ted.
She is survived by her son David Nishikawa of Davis CA, son Gerald “Gerry” Nishikawa and wife Betsy Nishikawa of Davis CA, daughter Patricia “Pattie” Nishikawa of Studio City CA, daughter Sharon Nishikawa of West Sacramento CA, and son Mark Nishikawa of Davis CA. June is also survived by grandchild Lloni (Nishikawa) Anderes, husband Ethan Anderes, and great-grandchildren Chloe, Eleanor (Ella), and Ezra.
