Jean Yeiko Kubota

Jean Kubota passed away peacefully in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday April 21, 2022. She is survived by her husband Raymond "Ray" Shigeo Kubota, son Randall Stephen Kubota, daughters Laura Lisa (Douglas) Levine and Karen Jill (Craig) Tomita, and grandsons Christian Raymond Tomita, William Randall Tomita and Stephen Eugene Levine.

Born Jean Yeiko Takushi on April 6, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, she was the only child of Rose Shiroma Takushi Ohye and Anjin "James" Takushi. At age five, she was relocated with her family to the Poston Internment Camp in Yuma County, Arizona, where she was incarcerated for four years. Jean returned to Los Angeles after the war and graduated from Roosevelt High School. As a teenager, ballet and baton twirling were among her many interests.

Jean first met her husband in 1954 at the International Institute of Los Angeles as members of two local social clubs: Philos (Jean) and Squires (Ray). They were married in Monterey Park in 1957. Jean was a secretary for Hollywood designer Don Loper and later worked as the bookkeeper at her husband's repair shop Grand Prix Auto Body.

Jean and Ray raised their family in Montebello, California, where she actively volunteered as a Girl Scout leader and PTA member. She was a talented seamstress with an eye for fashion and detail. She made colorful outfits ranging from cheerleading uniforms and ice skating creations to homemade Halloween costumes. In her later years, she turned to jewelry-making. Jean was a lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan and season ticket holder during the team's heyday at the LA Forum. Her love for another Los Angeles institution, See's Candies, was well known.

Jean never missed an opportunity to celebrate the holidays. Throughout her life, she was happiest in the role of hostess to many great parties and get-togethers, big and small. One such occasion was Jean and Ray's 50th wedding anniversary, featuring a live rock band perched high atop a landing at their home in Hancock Park. Jean loved music – from Frank Sinatra to Donny and Marie to Mötley Crüe – and often started her day by blasting Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.” When Ray sold his business in 2014, the couple moved to the Summerlin community in Las Vegas.

Most of all Jean will be remembered for her warmth, generosity, infectious laugh, and beautiful smile.

A funeral service will be held on May 15, 2022 at the Palm Eastern Cemetery in Las Vegas.