Lasting Memories

Saye Noguchi
Aug. 12, 1923-Jan. 3, 2026
Palo Alto, California

Saye Noguchi, a longtime Palo Alto resident, retired Ohlone Elementary School secretary and beloved matriarch of an extended family, died peacefully at home Jan. 3. She was 102.

Saye was a superb organizer, manager, cook and hostess. Determined and energetic, she set an example in caring for people in our lives. In the school office, she welcomed every child, family and staff member. At home, she devoted herself to raising three children and doting on six grandchildren.

Sayeko Yonemoto was born in 1923 in Martinez, one of four children of Chosaburo and Koben Yonemoto, immigrants from Japan. She grew up in Danville, where her parents farmed tomatoes on leased land.

The family was uprooted in 1942 when the U.S. government rounded up and incarcerated 125,000 people of Japanese descent then living on the West Coast. The Yonemoto family was confined at Gila River, Arizona, and lost their farm and most of their belongings.

As Japanese immigrants and descendants were unwelcome to return to Danville after the war, the family relocated to San Francisco. There Saye worked as a secretary for the Army Corps of Engineers.

In 1952, she married Yoshiaki Noguchi and moved to Pasadena. They moved to Palo Alto in 1957.

As a teenager, Saye aspired to go into business. She eventually paired her administrative, secretarial and accounting skills with a cheerful, warm personality and excellent memory when she became a clerk then secretary at Ohlone school.

It was impossible to make a short run to the grocery store, because Saye always ran into someone who knew her and wanted to chat.

Saye and Yo enjoyed hosting gatherings of family and a wide array of friends from school, Boy Scouts and various circles. Yo passed away from cancer in 1986.

Saye retired from PAUSD in 1991 and became a full-time grandmother, serving as backup cook, driver and caregiver for her six grandchildren and their families. Her entire family’s wardrobe benefited from her love of shopping and her sharp sense of style.

She joined a book club and senior groups at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple. She ran “Camp Nana” in summers. She took extended trips to Japan when two of her children temporarily lived and worked there.

Well into her 90s she was still roasting the Thanksgiving turkey and preparing most of the trimmings. Today, her family struggles to make gravy as delicious as hers.

Saye is survived by her brother Jimmy Yonemoto of Daly City; sister-in-law Nell Noguchi of Daly City; daughter Sharon of Palo Alto, son Mark and his wife Betty of Los Altos and daughter Lynne and her husband Paul Fujitani of Sacramento. Also surviving are grandchildren Corey Fujitani and his wife Lauren, Gregory Fujitani and his wife Lesley, Glyn and Kayla Noguchi and Maya and Elise Bruguera; great-grandchildren Kenji and Zoey and many nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends. Besides Yo, she was predeceased by her brother Kaz Yonemoto, sister Shige Mamiya, sisters-in-law Lois Yonemoto, Mary Yonemoto and Sadako Marshall, and brothers-in-law Moriaki Noguchi, Albert Mamiya and Phillip Marshall.