Skip to content

Former Steveston post office mistress passes away, 98

Sakie Nariiwa was born in Steveston and spent many years working in the cannery, before starting work in the Steveston Post Office in 1959.
sakie-nariiwa
Sakie Nariiwa passed away a couple of weeks ago

A well-known member of Steveston’s Japanese community has passed away, age 98.

Sakie Nariiwa, who passed away peacefully on Sunday Oct. 30, was born in Steveston and spent many years working in the cannery, before starting work in the Steveston Post Office in 1959.

It was there that she later became “post mistress,” as it was called back then, until the office close temporarily in 1972, prompting her to move on to Woodward’s Stores until her retirement in 1984.

In her retirement, Nariiwa became a very active member of the Steveston Buddhist Temple.

She was born on July 4, 1924 and was the daughter of Mitsutaro and Risa Nakane.

After completing school, she worked on the family farm and helped her father during the fishing season.

Sakie and family interned to Alberta

However, in the spring of 1942 she and her family were interned to Magrath, Alberta, where they were assigned to work in the sugar beet fields.

She stayed in Magrath until 1950 at which time she moved back to the Lower Mainland and married Morio Nariiwa on Dec. 10, 1953.

Morio was a commercial fisherman and Sakie worked in the cannery during fishing season.

She is survived by her sisters Michie Chiang of Portland, Oregon and Isoko Motomura of Dundas, Ontario.

Nariiwa was predeceased by her husband, her sisters Mikiko Yamamoto, Yoshie Tsuji and her brother Mitsuo Nakane.

A private service for her took place last week. Online condolences may be left at www.richmond-funeral.ca.