Antonia Sugihara's Obituary
A Rembrance Tribute will take place at Lasting Tributes Cremation & Funeral Care on Saturday July 28, 2012 between 7 & 9 PM.
Antonia Sugihara 1922-2012
Antonia (Vermeer) Sugihara was born on August 17, 1922 in the city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia). Her parents were Albertus Willem Vermeer and Djinah Kinong. Antonia (Toni) grew up in a colonial world, now long gone, the child of a Dutch civil servant and his pretty native wife. By all accounts it was a wonderful life in a tropical house with lush flowers, colorful birds on the porch and cool afternoon rains. It was a large family. Besides Toni there were 2 brothers, 4 sisters not counting gardeners and various family servants.
Toni’s whole life changed in March 1942 when the Japanese invaded Batavia and the whole Dutch East Indian Empire. What was once a sleepy little colonial town was now an occupied city. Her brothers and her father were in concentration camps and her family (now only her mother and sisters) had to make do under new sympathetic regime. It was a dark time but there was a wonderful event when she met her future husband, Shigeyoshi Sugihara.
Shigeyoshi (Yosh) was a Japanese business man who came to Batavia after living in Mexico. They met, fell in love, married and had a little son named Argio. During that time, Yosh helped take care of the family and made sure they were able to live relatively unmolested during the occupation.
After the war ended, the Indonesian war for independence started. Toni lost her mother, and her brothers and sister fled to Holland. Fortunately, Yosh was able, with the help of General MacArthur, to arrange passage for Toni and Arigo to go to Japan. While in Japan, another son was born, George.
In 1950 Yosh and Toni and the boys moved to San Francisco, California. In 1952, their daughter, Lydia, was born. In 1960 the whole family relocated to Scarsdale, New York where Yosh and Toni lived for 30 years.
On June 26, 2010 at the age of 94, Yosh died unexpectedly. After that, Toni moved to Annapolis Maryland and lived with Lydia. Toni died peacefully in her sleep on July 23, 2012 a few weeks before her 90th birthday.
Antonia Sugihara was a wonderful woman, she was a gourmet cook and lived a life that most of us only read about in history. She will be severely missed by all her friends and relatives. But she will be especially missed by her two sons, her daughter and grandchildren, whom she loved with her whole heart and being. So, Antonia, Toni, Nana, we all loved you and one day, we are sure, we will see you again. –your family
“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity.”
-Gilda Radner
What’s your fondest memory of Antonia ?
What’s a lesson you learned from Antonia ?
Share a story where Antonia 's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Antonia you’ll never forget.
How did Antonia make you smile?