Toshiko Ikeda Ohsiek

Toshiko Ikeda Ohsiek was born June 24, 1931 in Saitama-ken, north of Tokyo, Japan, the fourth of six children born to Jitsudo Ikeda and Sadako Minegishi. Toshiko was 10 years old when World War II began and 14 when the war ended in 1945. After the war, her family moved to her father’s small ancestral village in Yamanashi-ken. Toshiko attended a girls’ school during the winters and lived at home during the summer. For her final year of high school, she moved to Tokyo to live with her older sister.

While at Kyoritsu girl’s school in Tokyo, she attended English classes taught by the LDS missionaries. She met and became life-long friends with the mission president’s daughter, Peggy Mauss

(Eliason). When Toshiko’s older sister moved back home to care for their parents, Sister Mauss, the mission president’s wife, invited Toshiko to live at the mission home so she could finish high school in Tokyo. After graduation, she worked for the US Army Occupation forces in downtown Tokyo as a typist, and later as a secretary for the Japan/Northern Asia Mission, back in the mission home.

Two years after meeting the missionaries, Toshiko was baptized on October 31, 1951 in the

Tokyo mission home baptismal font, which is where the Tokyo temple now stands.

With the help of the mission president’s wife, Toshiko applied to Rick’s College in Idaho and was awarded a full-tuition scholarship. President Hansen, 1st counselor in the mission presidency sponsored her travel from Yokohama to San Francisco by ship. Her family came to see her off, supportive of her decision to go to college in the United States.

In Rexburg, Toshiko quickly became the darling of the campus and was crowned the “Queen of Girls’ Day” in her sophomore year. Each summer between semesters, she worked as a waitress at Jackson Lake Lodge in Jackson Hole, WY. She chose the morning shift so she could hike and go horseback

riding after work. She even joined a climbing club and climbed to the top of the Grand Teton!

Toshiko transferred to Brigham Young University, in Provo Utah for her senior year. There she met David Ohsiek, also in his senior year. They married in the Los Angeles temple in Santa Monica, California on August 10, 1957. A week later, they graduated from BYU; Toshiko with a BA in History, and David with a BS in Civil Engineering.

Toshiko and David are the parents of six children, 13 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. They have lived, worked, and traveled all over the world. After her children were older, Toshiko worked

for the Federal government, retiring at age 72 as a Personnel Staffing Specialist for the Social Security Administration in Kansas City, MO. She had excellent computer skills (though she claimed otherwise), adapting quickly to new knowledge and programs as technology advanced in the workplace.

Toshiko had boundless energy, serving as an early morning Seminary teacher, then as the ward Relief Society president while working full-time and maintaining her home and yard. She was an accomplished gardener and had an immaculate yard and garden in Kaysville, Utah, where they lived for 18 years after retirement. She was still jumping on the trampoline with her grandkids, well into her 80’s. When hosting family dinners, she always served a multi-course meal, never wanting anyone to leave hungry. She was an excellent cook and loved to bake cookies and cakes. She taught her children and grandchildren how to make traditional Japanese food, including tempura, sushi, sukiyaki, and Japanese style curry.

Toshiko was always smiling and laughing. She loved to be surrounded by her family, especially by the

little grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her greatest source of pride was the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren and she liked to talk about their professions and talents whenever she had the chance. In her final years, her family’s tender care and visits brought her joy and peace of mind. She is beloved by her husband, family and friends, and will be greatly missed.

Funeral services will be held Saturday November 11, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. at the Angel Park Ward, 205 S. Angel St., Kaysville, Utah.  Friends may visit with family Friday November 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Kaysville Mortuary, 400 N. Main St., Kaysville, Utah and Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the church prior to the service. 

Interment will be held at the Kaysville City Cemetery on Monday November 13, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.

Services will be livestreamed by scrolling to the bottom of Toshiko's obituary page at lindquistmortuary.com.

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