Misako S. (Sakuma) Allerdice

Misako S. Allerdice, a resident of Terwillger Plaza, passed away during the morning of August 21, 2023 at 9:21 AM.  She was 87 years old.

Misako was born July 15, 1936 in Tokyo, Japan. She was a young girl when World War II ended. Fortunately she had evacuated to the countryside and did not experience the horrible bombing of Tokyo.

Later, Misako met a certain Mrs. Kurusu, a Caucasian American who was the wife of Ambassador Kurusu, one of the Japanese diplomats who were in Washington D.C. at a meeting with Cordell Hull, The American Secretary of State. This meeting was being held at or before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Mrs. Kurusu befriended Misako and arranged for her to attend Otsuma Junior College where she graduated with a degree in Home Economics. After graduation she worked for a veterinarian and later for a Mr. Hiraizumi, a Japanese statesman and later the country’s ambassador to the United Nations. During his stay in New York she was a caregiver for his two children, and when they returned to Japan she became his secretary.

In 1965 Misako was introduced to Joe Allerdice, an American professor at a Japanese University. They married the same year and blissfully enjoyed fifty-eight years together both in Japan and Portland. During their life together they traveled extensively to most of southeast Asia, Tawain, S. Korea, Northern Europe and the South Pacific. They also had a small apartment on the beach in Pattaya Thailand and lived for year in Sydney, Australia.

Misako enjoyed Japanese flower arranging and was an accomplished swimmer. At Terwilliger, she was also a member of the knitting group. 

Misako was a traditional Japanese lady and always bowed to everyone she met, even strangers. Loving, polite, respectful, kind and always considerate of others.  And yet brave, strong and stoic in her one year experience of unrelenting pain.

No funeral arrangements have been made, but there will be a private graveside ceremony at Willamette National Cemetery.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Misako S. (Sakuma) Allerdice, please visit our floral store.