Yuki Petersen

Yuki Kato Petersen, 92, of Seattle, died on April 22, 2019.

She is survived by her children Rea, June, Bill, Alice and Jeff; 6 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and predeceased by her husband, Warren, in 2016, and her brother, Tomikazu, of Japan.

Born in Nagoya, Japan to Shinzo and Kunie Kato, Yuki secretly learned to pilot a glider while in high school. Secret, until the local newspaper featured her on the cover.

Yuki met Warren after WWII in Nagoya where they married and started a family. After immigrating to the U.S., Yuki became a citizen and the family lived in Seattle, Ephrata and Wenatchee, and returned to Japan in 1956, living in Nagoya and Fuchu / Nishi Takaido.

In Seattle, Yuki was a waitress at Bush Garden restaurant in the International District during the 1960s, and would come home with stories about celebrity diners. The family moved back to Japan and lived at Chofu Housing Annex and Tachikawa Air Base from 1967-1970, where Yuki volunteered for the local Red Cross, visiting with U.S. troops in the base hospital. She led the family in baking cookies to send to troops in Vietnam. The family toured Japan on vacations in their giant 1960s Ford station wagon.

Yuki loved musicals and played the LP soundtracks to South Pacific and The King and I. She practiced traditional Japanese dancing in the living room, and pursued her love of painting with oils. She ran a custom drapery business in Seattle, crafting covers for windows in homes, boats and private jets. She was a daring downhill skier — as her orthopedic surgeon can attest — and went on weekly day trips in the winter to Stevens Pass and Crystal Mountain with her friends Gwen and Nancy.

Yuki and Warren lived in Bahrain from 1981-1984 and 1987-1993 where he was an advisor to the Bahraini government. They continued to make friends from around the world and vacationed in Tokyo, London, Vienna, Scotland and Maui.

Beginning in 1993 Yuki and Warren divided their time between Seattle and Sun City West, Arizona, where they volunteered at Mariners Spring Training games in Peoria for seven years. Yuki worked outside the stadium press box where she would chat with reporters from Japan who followed Ichiro.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to a favorite charity.

Open house reception for family and friends Saturday, May 18, 3:00 – 5:00 pm at Chateau Bothell Landing, Building A, 2nd floor. 17543 102nd Ave NE, Bothell WA 98011

Email for time and date: