Yoshiko Asano Wright, of Fernandina Beach and previously Billerica, Massachusetts, passed away on June 10, 2026, at the age of 96. Born and raised in Japan, she survived a world war, married an American service member, stayed married to him for more than 65 years until his passing, raised three children, and cherished many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Yoshi, as she was known to her friends, was born on January 8, 1930, in Ube, Japan, an industrial city on the southwest tip of Honshu, Japan's largest island. She was smart and athletic (despite her small stature, she won a gold medal in a high school track and field competition in the 100-meter sprint) and spunky—a “challenger” according to one of her Japanese nephews. She was about four years old when this trait emerged: she threw chopsticks at her great-grandfather to protest the unfairness of his giving some candy to her brother but not to her. (He was not amused.)

She had a happy and comfortable upbringing, but then World War II intervened and her life changed forever. She witnessed and lived through some of war’s harsh brutalities. Her skin turned orange from the amount of pumpkin she ate amid food shortages; as a teenager, she was forced to work in a factory to make submarine parts; and she watched her home and her city go up in flames from an American bombing raid. Long after, Yoshi still had vivid memories of wartime life in Japan. Her most evocative stories described the low humming sound of the B-29 bombers that flew over her home and city in early July 1945, dropping incendiary bombs, and the heat and destruction from the resulting fires.

Yoshi and her family rebuilt after the war, demonstrating resilience and determination to move on. After graduation from high school in 1946, Yoshi took a job as a clerk-typist with a Japanese company, but she quietly fumed at a work culture where women were expected to cater to the men. So, she left and started working at a nearby U.S. Army base, where the female employees were treated with courtesy and respect. In 1954, she moved far from her family in Ube (against the norm for a young woman in post-war Japan) to take a job at a U.S. Air Force base near Tokyo. It was there that she met a young officer, Alan Wright, and they began dating.

Yoshi and Alan married in December 1955, despite the opposition of her own brother and Alan’s parents. When Alan’s tour of duty in Japan ended, Yoshi said goodbye to her Japanese family and moved with Alan and a newborn daughter to the United States, where she met and charmed her American in-laws. In the next three years, Yoshi and Alan added two sons to the family, and Yoshi immersed herself completely in the culture of her adopted homeland, even to the point of submerging her Japanese heritage so that the kids would grow up “American.” She learned to cook thanks to Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, taught herself to sew dresses by following patterns, and worked on her English by reading bedtime stories and books such as My Friend Flicka to her children.

Yoshi saw much of the United States during Alan’s career in the Air Force, as he received assignments to bases in New Mexico, Alabama, Maryland, Ohio, and finally, Massachusetts, where they lived for the rest of their married lives. Yoshi adapted quickly to the new places, taking everything in stride, and holding the household together. She also took the time to correspond regularly with her Japanese relatives and with Alan’s aunts and cousins in Scotland, cementing those relationships that remain strong to this day. And as her kids grew up, Yoshi kept busy

helping them with homework, taking them to their various activities, and then packing them up for college.

Yoshi was very talented—a skilled painter, sketch artist, knitter, and baker—and active. When she and Alan became empty nesters, they traveled widely, served their local community as poll workers, and picked up new hobbies, cross-country skiing and hiking. While in their sixties, they summited 43 of the 48 four thousand-foot peaks in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, which became their happy place. After their children had children of their own, Yoshi and Alan drove up and down the East Coast of the U.S. to attend the grandchildren’s events and milestones, including the military commissioning of four of them and every wedding and college graduation that they were physically able to attend. Invariably she would bring pumpkin bread or a large tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Well into their eighties, the two of them could be seen raking leaves in their large yard in Billerica or shoveling snow off a lengthy driveway. And they were longstanding, engaged members of the Tewksbury (Mass.) Congregational Church.

Yoshi bid farewell to Alan in September 2021. As she lost her independence, she agreed to move to Fernandina Beach to be close to family, despite her dislike for hot summers. (It helped that she landed in the shrimp capital of Florida, given her love for seafood.) Throughout her life, Yoshi forged her own path while always remaining true to her family, her faith, and her belief in doing the right thing. Consistently polite and gracious, she was also physically and mentally tough, even defiant at times. But she loved to laugh and was forever devoted to the ones she loved. She had a unique talent for making people feel special. Yoshi’s long, eventful life leaves a rich, enduring legacy that lives on through her children and grandchildren, inspiring one of those grandchildren to write a book about her.

Yoshiko is survived by her daughter Pamela Meyers (Tony) of Fernandina Beach; her sons Philip Wright (Julia) also of Fernandina Beach, and Jim Wright (Deb) of Harpswell, Maine; by eleven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren; and by her nephews, Tatsuru and Yutaka Asano, of Tokyo, Japan. The family wishes to express heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the staff of The Lakeside at Amelia Island and Community Hospice for the loving care provided to her in the twilight of her life.

The Lakeside of Amelia Island plans to hold a private memorial service for her later this month. At some future date, Yoshiko’s remains and Alan’s will be inurned in a final resting place at Jacksonville National Cemetery. May she rest in peace.