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Leona "Chemi" passed away under hospice care at the Covenant Care Center in Turlock, CA on August 30, 2024. Her sisters were at her bedside. She was born on June 12, 1938 in Merced, CA, the third child of Saburo and Haruko Narita. She was raised on the family farm in Cortez, a Japanese-American community south of Turlock, except for the time when the family was in the internment camp in Amache (Granada), CO. Leona graduated from Ballico Grammar School, Livingston High School, and Modesto JC, where she received her A.A. degree. She earned her B.A. degree in Education from CSU, San Jose, and began her career teaching first and second grade for four years in San Jose. Leona was a graduate student intern at Sonoma State Hospital and Langley-Porter Neuro-Psychiatric Institute to complete her M.A. degree in Special Education from CSU, San Francisco. She taught Special Education from 1965-68 in San Mateo, CA under the County Special Services Department. Leona moved to New York in 1968 to teach severely emotionally disturbed children in Brooklyn and New York City because there were more SED programs there at that time. She began her tenure in Oakland in 1971 and earned 2 more credentials before retiring in 1997 as a Resource Specialist. In 1974, Leona bought her first home in the Oakland Hills and was active in the community. She was a member of the Montclair Tennis Club, 2 book clubs, a hiking group and the Y. She was also a volunteer at the Oakland Museum and the Berkeley Repertory Theater. She was a devoted member of Lake Park United Methodist Church and sang in the choir. Leona moved to Turlock in 2019 to be closer to her family and took up residence at Covenant Living. She enjoyed the various activities there, participating in aqua-aerobics, exercise classes, crafting classes and the book club. She became a member of First Presbyterian Church where she sang in the choir and tutored after-school children. Leona was preceded in death by her parents, Saburo and Haruko Narita, her brother, Lloyd, and her sisters, Ada Nose and Ilene Sato. She is survived by her sisters, Carole Narita, Gail Creighton (Doug), Sandra Beattie (Scott), Ruby Narita and her brother, Kenneth Narita (Cathy), 5 nieces, 2 nephews, 4 great-nephews and 2 great-nieces. A Celebration of Life will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 2619 N. Berkeley Ave., Turlock, CA 95382 at 1 pm on October 19, 2024. Contributions in Leona's memory may be made to First Presbyterian Church, the Glaucoma Research Foundation, 251 Post St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94108, or a charity of your choice.

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Chiyemi Leona Narita

June 12, 1938 - August 30, 2024