She was born in Aomori-ken, Japan and came to the U.S. to attend Springfield Junior College in Illinois, then Brescia College in Owensboro. She completed her master’s degree at Western Kentucky University, as well as her Rank 1 as a reading specialist. Even after her formal education was complete, she never stopped learning, everything from painting classes in Kentucky to tea ceremony and ikebana (floral arrangement) in Japan. She enjoyed traveling and went all over the world with friends.
She loved all of her students—every single one of you was her favorite. She taught English for decades, even though it wasn’t her native language. And she was thrilled to teach Japanese at GSP—where her students learned more Japanese than her own children ever did.
There are thousands of lives that she touched, decades of students and colleagues and neighbors and friends, people we would love to thank but never even met. She made lasting friendships with everyone, brought light and happiness to all who knew her.
She is survived by son Jim Bouvier in Nebraska; daughter Marie Bouvier and son-in-law Cameron Hunziker; grandchildren, Baz and Mazzy Hunziker in Washington; her mother Yasu Nakaguki; sister Yoshie Maeda and family; and brother Masakazu Nakaguki and family in Japan. And endless thanks to her caregivers and medical team for all that they did when we could not be there; we are grateful you could stand in our place.
No memorial service is planned at this time, and no flowers or donations are requested. Instead, please call your loved ones and follow her best and most constant piece of advice: Be nice. James H. Davis Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements.