Constance Nayematsu Ishio (Connie), longtime resident of the Silver Spring area, died Friday, the 1st of January at her daughter’s home in Goodyear, Az. Born in 1920 in Crow Agency, MT, to Yahei and Koume (Mikami) Nayematsu, one of six children. She received her BA degree in Early Childhood Education from Colorado State Teacher’s College in Greeley, CO.
She taught preschool at Riverside Church in NYC before she married the late Col. Sunao (Phil) Ishio, on her birthday in 1945. After marriage, they moved to the Washington, DC area where she taught preschool for many years and saw many of her pupils finish college and become parents themselves.
She was a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Wheaton and enjoyed watching the services of her church (now called Streams of Hope) every Sunday.
She also enjoyed being part of the Kiwanis Club and the Women’s Club and made many new friends there. She supported her husband in his activities with JAVA (Japanese American Veteran’s Association) and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation. She did volunteer sewing for various charitable organizations and was forever gathering material and thread. She also participated in the Grand Readers program at the local elementary school near her house in Md. She loved to cook and made many batches of peanut brittle and blueberry muffins which she bestowed on her many friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, with whom she shared 64 years of marriage, and her son, Douglas Ishio. She is survived by her daughters, Julie Sloneker and her husband, Mark, and Holly Molden and her husband, Jim and their son, Dr. Jaime Molden.
Memorial gifts made be made to Streams of Hope Church, 200 W Diamond Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, or the Phil and Connie Ishio Scholarship Fund through JAVA. Please make check out to the Japanese American Veterans Association, and mail to LTC Mark Nakagawa, 9455 Park Hunt Court, Springfield, VA 22153 (note the name of the fund on memo line).
A memorial gathering will be held at Streams of Hope Church, 200 W Diamond Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 on the 12th of March 2016 at 11:00 am with reception to follow.