Hatsuko "Suzy" Marang

Hatsuko (Suzy) Marang passed away peacefully on the 27th of March 2025 of natural causes at Hospice of Central Ohio at the age of 82. She was surrounded by Family and friends on a beautiful sunny day. The Japanese cherry blossoms bloomed with her passing.

Hatsuko was preceded in death by her Father Saburo Miyahira (1963), Mother Kamado Miyahira (Tomihara) (1997), and Husband Richard Deane Marang (2024).

She is survived by sons John, Richard, Ronnie (Dusty), and Jason (Ashley), along with many grandchildren, great grandchildren and friends.

Hatsuko was born on the 4th of September 1942 and raised in Okinawa, Japan in a small village close to the ocean. She came from humble beginnings with very little resources available in post-World War II Okinawa. The battle for Okinawa in 1945 was devastating to the civilian population. Her family’s survival gives testament to the courage and fortitude of the Okinawan people to survive and thrive.

Okinawa’s history with war did not stop there. Okinawa was a key staging ground for troops rotating to and from Vietnam. During this time Hatsuko was in her early 20’s. Little did she know then that her life would take an unexpected turn from the life she had. She met a handsome blonde haired blue eye Marine who would serve 3 tours of duty in Vietnam to woo her and eventually make her his wife in 1965. She went on to move with her love to the United States knowing very little English but trusted her American husband that she would be taken care of. Her life blossomed with fulfilment and her newfound security knowing that she would be cared for deeply.

Hatsuko went on to raise 4 rambunctious boys that kept her on her toes. Through her children she learned English by writing down words on her notepad that she didn’t understand then having her children explain the meaning to her. She had a great love of learning and was always reading books. She was also an amateur poet that wrote many poems while in Okinawa and the United States. Many of her poems were published in local newspapers and magazines in her homeland of Okinawa garnering a large fan base that would write her letters and ask her for advice.

Hatsuko and her husband were involved in the Okinawa Tomono Kai of Ohio. She enjoyed traveling out west with her husband and always made a stop at Wall Drug South Dakota. She and her husband very much enjoyed their last trip in the spring of 2023.

She will be deeply missed by all that she touched during her life, but her memory will never fade from those who she loved and loved her.

Hatsuko will be laid to rest with her late husband Richard at Franklin Hills Memory Gardens located in Canal Winchester, Ohio. There will not be a public viewing or grave side ceremony. The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Okinawa Tomono Kai of Ohio or your preferred charity in her memory.