Chieko N. Okazaki
Chieko N. Okazaki | |
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First Counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society | |
March 31, 1990 | – April 5, 1997|
Called by | Elaine L. Jack |
Predecessor | Joy F. Evans |
Successor | Virginia U. Jensen |
Personal details | |
Born | Chieko Nishimura October 21, 1926 Hawaii, United States |
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
Cause of death | Congestive heart failure |
Resting place | Mountain View Memorial Estates[1] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Spouse(s) | Edward Y. Okazaki |
Children | 2 |
Parents | Kanenori and Hatsuko Nishimura |
Chieko Nishimura Okazaki (October 21, 1926 – August 1, 2011) was first counselor to Elaine L. Jack in the Relief Society general presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1990 to 1997. She was the first non-Caucasian woman to serve as a general presidency member of an LDS Church auxiliary organization.[2]
Okazaki was born and raised in Hawaii as a Buddhist, the daughter of Hawaii-born parents of Japanese descent. At the age of fifteen she converted to the LDS Church. She later married Edward Y. Okazaki and they had two sons. Professionally she was an educator and taught in Hawaii, Utah, and Colorado, and was also an elementary school principal. Edward Okazaki served in the United States Army during World War II. [3]
In 1961 Okazaki was appointed to the YWMIA board in the LDS Church and was the first non-Caucasian to serve in this position.[2] From 1968 to 1971 she served with her husband as he served as the first president of the church's Japan–Okinawa Mission and then the Japan Central Mission, based in Kobe, after the Japan–Okinawa Mission was split.[4][5]
In 1990, Okazaki was called to be the first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency. In that position, she became one of the first LDS Church leaders to address the topic of sexual abuse in a general church setting.[2]
Okazaki later served as a member of the Southern Virginia University board of trustees.[6] She was a frequent speaker at Brigham Young University's women's conference and other events sponsored by the LDS Church or organizations owned by the LDS Church. She wrote several books, most of which are geared to an audience of Latter-day Saint women.
Okazaki died of congestive heart failure in Salt Lake City, Utah, aged 84.[2][7]
Publications
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Notes
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Peggy Fletcher Stack, "Beloved Mormon women’s leader Chieko Okazaki dies", Salt Lake Tribune, 2011-08-03.
- ↑ Japanese American National Museum database of Japanese-Americans in the US military
- ↑ BYU Studies, Vol. 44, no. 2 (2005) p. 152
- ↑ history of the Japan-Okinawa Mission
- ↑ bio from Children's Reading Foundation
- ↑ Joseph Walker, "LDS leader, author, speaker Chieko Okazaki dies", Deseret News, 2011-08-03.
References
- “New Relief Society General Presidency Called,” Ensign, May 1990, pp. 110–11.
- Aloha! by Chieko N. Okazaki
- Deseret Book bio of Okazaki
- Chieko N. Okazaki at Find a Grave
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
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Preceded by | First Counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society March 31, 1990 – April 5, 1997 |
Succeeded by Virginia U. Jensen |
- 1926 births
- 2011 deaths
- 20th-century Mormon missionaries
- American Latter Day Saint writers
- American leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- American Mormon missionaries in Japan
- American people of Japanese descent
- Converts to Mormonism
- Counselors in the General Presidency of the Relief Society
- Female Mormon missionaries
- People from Hawaii
- People from Salt Lake City, Utah
- Southern Virginia University people