Kazue Masuda's Obituary
Kazue Masuda was born on September 4, 1926 to Kichinosuke and Mume Arimoto in Tokyo, Japan and passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 13, 2014 in Richardson, Texas. Kazue is survived by her loving husband, Kazuma Masuda, her son, Richard Muir and his wife, Kay (Kazue), her grandson, Ken Muir, and her daughter, Kay Coder. Kazue graduated from Tokyo Women’s College with a Bachelor’s in Science in Mathematics and also attended Ginza Imperial Cooking School, specializing in International Cuisine. She first lived in Dallas, TX from 1959 -1973. She was skilled in many of the Japanese Cultural arts, such as flower arrangement, tea ceremony, traditional Japanese dance, and doll making, and was often asked to perform at the Texas State Fair and other events during the 1960s. She was the proprietor of Kazue Japanese Restaurant in Dallas in 1963-1966. She was one of the original members of the Japan American Society in Dallas in 1966. Kazue overcame language and cultural barriers to become one of the first female chefs certified by the Texas Chefs Association and the American Culinary Federation in 1971. In 1973, Kazue moved back to Japan to marry her devoted husband, Kazuma Masuda, and start all over again. She started Masuda Cooking School in Japan and also worked as an accountant for an accessory company in Tokyo with which she traveled frequently to Italy, France, and Hong Kong on buying trips. Kazuma and Kazue moved back to Dallas to be closer to her children in 2007 after their retirement. Once back in Dallas, Kazue began conducting cooking classes out of her home at age 80 and had over 30 students over the past few years. She continued teaching, with the help of her “Otoko Sensei” (Kazuma), until March of this year. Not only was Kazue an excellent chef and hostess, she was also an avid game player and loved to play card games with her friends and family, particularly Hand and Foot Canasta– especially if she was on the winning team! Kazue was loved by all who knew her and known for her graciousness, kindness, many talents – especially in the culinary arts, and generosity. She was known to her friends as Kazue-san, her students as “Sensei” (teacher), her children and their friends as “Mama”, and her grandson as “Baba” (grandmother). Kazue will be greatly missed, but will be forever remembered by all those she touched during her extraordinary life. There will not be a funeral / memorial service at this time. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75238. In lieu of flowers, you may make a memorial gift in any amount made payable to the Richland College Faculty Association Scholarship Fund. Send check to: Richland College, LEAD Division 12800 Abrams Rd. Dallas, TX 75243, Attn: Kay Coder
To visit the obituary for Kazue's husband, Kazuma Masuda, please follow the link below:
https://www.restlandfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Kazuma-Masuda/#!/Obituary
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