Sumie Kinoshita

On September 21, 2026, Sumie Kinoshita, passed away peacefully into the arms of her Lord Jesus with her daughters by her side. She was born in Victoria, BC in 1938, the fifth of seven children, and was a third generation Japanese Canadian. When war broke out in the Pacific after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Sumie and her family with thousands of other Japanese Canadians were evacuated off the west coast of BC and transported to Vancouver. The family along with her Aunt Lily, were eventually interned to the New Denver/Slocan area in the Kootenays. When the war was over Sumie and her family were allowed to move back to the west coast of B.C. In 1949, the family settled on a farm in South Surrey. After high school, Sumie went on to Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing to become a registered nurse. She also went to Vancouver Bible College and Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills, Alberta to study the Bible and deepen her faith. In 1962, she married her husband, Matsu Kinoshita and they were together for forty-eight years until he passed.

Throughout Sumie’s life, she kept busy being a wife, mother, grandmother, aunt. She worked for years at Vancouver General Hospital and finished her career with Burnaby Long Term Care. After retirement, she kept herself active doing various sports including Pickleball into her early eighties. Sumie dedicated her life to church activities by being a Sunday School teacher, girls’ club and kid’s summer bible camp volunteer, and a bible study leader at Bible Study Fellowship. She was involved in church community groups and had a passion for supporting missionary work. She wrote a book, enjoyed watercolour painting, flowering arranging, sewing and knitting.

She is survived by her two daughters, five grandchildren, one sister, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnephews, and grandnieces. She is predeceased by her husband Matsu Kinoshita, parents Kanekichi and Naoe Morisawa, sister Diane Iwata, and brothers David, Kenneth, George and Allan Morisawa.

A Memorial service will be held on October 10, 2026, at 1:00 pm, at Coquitlam Alliance Church, 2601 Spuraway Avenue, Coquitlam, BC. A reception will follow with light refreshments.

The service will be livestreamed. Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/yzdVO4cRSdY

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the following organizations:

Canadian Japanese Missions: Donate Now - Canadian Japanese Ministries

CA Church – Missions: Give — CA Church

Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation: surreyhospitalfoundcation.com

“In Christ Alone”