Anne Schrager May 23, 2021
NASA special projects manager and retired Army Sgt. James Schwab lays a wreath at last year’s Memorial Day ceremony at the San Francisco National Cemetery. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle 2020
Celebrated on the last Monday in May (this year, May 31) Memorial Day arrives with outdoor services and presentations to honor American soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. To mark the occasion, Bay Area organizations plan to host wreath-laying ceremonies, cemetery-side memorial services and more events to attend in person or to view online.
Along with the solemnity of the federal holiday, the three-day weekend in late spring is also full of opportunities to relax and enjoy as summer approaches.
Those We Lost in 2020
Posted On
2020 has been a year of extraordinary loss and suffering. As The Rafu
presents its annual listing of passings in the community, we offer our condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in this most difficult of years.
Following, in alphabetical order, are some of the notable individuals who passed away during the past year.
Sumako Azuma II
Sumako Azuma II (Janice Aiso Edesa), 61, on July 24. The North American representative to Azuma Ryū in Japan, she taught Japanese classical dance for 45 years, training 14 students to earn the natori degree and one to earn the shihan degree.