Sachiko Meckes

July 13, 1931 to April 23, 2026

Sachiko Meckes, 94, of Lakewood, Washington, passed away on April 23,2026. She was born on July 13th, 1931, in Tokyo Japan, to Kotomaro and Kiyo Sugimori.

Sachiko met and married Walter A. Meckes, an active-duty member of the United States Army from Allentown, Pennsylvania. After their marriage, she moved to the United States to begin their new life together. Beginning in 1960, Sachiko and Walter welcomed four children in just five years: Michael, Linda, Janet and Joseph.

Sachiko lost Walter in 1982 and had to begin building a new life on her own. Somehow she managed to not only survive but to thrive on very limited resources. She was able to buy a new house, make it a home of her own and maintained it and kept it the family hub. During this time, she met William Merriman, and they shared a life together for over 25 years.

Sachiko was known by many names - GG for Great Grandma, Grandma, Ma, Mom, Yumi, Sachiko, Mrs. Meckes - each one reflecting the many people who loved her.

She had a great sense of humor and laughed wonderfully out loud with the greatest smile. She laughed easily at herself and taught us to laugh at ourselves. As she set about rebuilding her life, Sachiko attended Tacoma Community College, wanting to improve her English, and she quickly came to be a mentor for a few of the young Japanese exchange students. They are still close friends to this day.

Sachiko had to deal with slowly losing her eyesight. She loved to play video games and played until she couldn't. She loved the Mariners and was a pretty good pool shark in her day. She loved to dance and sing. She started us on karaoke!

Most important to Sachiko was caring for her children, and for her, that meant feeding them. She loved to cook and feed her family, and her family never went hungry even when times were tight. It was a major part of her identity, and not only was it her purpose in life, it was her expression of love.

It is hard to say goodbye to this wonderful, resilient, determined woman who always put her children and family first. But how lucky we were to have her with us for so long.

Job well done, Mom! Job well done.

Sachiko was preceded in death by her husband, Walter A. Meckes; her partner, William Merriman; her son-in-law, Daniel H. O'Donnell and her five siblings. She is survived by her children:

o Michael M. Meckes and daughter-in-law Kimberly

o Linda A. O'Donnell

o Janet. M. Quiles and son-in-law Carmelo

o Joseph P. Meckes;

as well as seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and her sister Yukiko Onodera of Yokohama, Japan.

Her final resting place will be at the Tahoma National Cemetery where she will be laid to rest beside Walter.