Violet Uzawa Dorio, from different eras of her life
Our mother, Violet Uzawa Dorio, passed away on Feb. 24, 2026, at the age of 104.
She lived several lives after being born in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, to Japanese immigrants. As a young girl, she was a free spirit who could be found roaming the apple orchards and climbing trees. Her father sponsored a teacher and helped establish a Japanese school so the town’s children could preserve their language and culture.
When she was 15, her family, except for her oldest sister, moved to Japan, where they stayed throughout the war. She later talked about the difficulties of adjusting to the society’s strictness — how even something as simple as having trouble wearing traditional sandals could arouse suspicion, leading some to think she was a spy. She also remembered a harrowing moment on a beach when she was chased and shot at by an airplane. She made it through uninjured and, in her kind and gentle way, would laugh as she shared the story, as if the danger itself hadn’t broken her spirit. This is how she faced life.
As a Canadian citizen, she served with the American Red Cross in U.S.-occupied Japan after WWII, where she met our father, an Army Air Corps pilot, writer and political activist. They married and moved to New York City, where they were involved in the civil rights movement.
Like many parents of their time, their achievements went unspoken, and over the years, we had to piece together their efforts from historical records to understand the role they played in their community. Even now, we are still learning how daring and courageous they were in fighting for their neighbors’ rights.
They were part of the rising evolution of our society.
We realize that mom and dad didn’t tell us about their past because they wanted to protect us, as well as their friends and acquaintances. They had secrets to keep, and they kept them.
With their three sons, they had to leave New York in 1954 and chose to move to Los Angeles, knowing their Brooklyn Dodgers would soon follow.
They moved to a neighborhood of color, where our mother went back to school to become a healthcare professional, and our father attended night school to earn an advanced degree in social work.
Although they no longer participated in politics, the discussion around the dining room table remained political. Sometimes, they joined protests. While supporting our American troops, they opposed President Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
Raising us and emphasizing “education” produced two medical doctors and an expert in workers’ compensation law.
Coming to California meant that our family shared the same spirit of “bleeding Dodger blue” for the team that moved from New York. In those early days, listening to Dodger radio broadcasts was a big part of our daily routine.
Before the war, our mother, a skilled baseball player in Summerland, Canada, knew the game well. So when we went to Dodger games, we sometimes sat just above the booth where Vin Scully broadcast, hearing his voice directly. As Scully tried to read the lips of players on the field, our mom would successfully “pick off” signs from the dugout manager and the first- or third-base coaches of the opponents!
Our father passed away in 1989, but our mother took on a property manager role, cared for her cats, and maintained her garden. After a fall, she moved to Santa Clarita and celebrated her 100th birthday with us in her new community.
What made our mom wonderful was her loving, kind, caring, supportive and welcoming nature toward everyone. She had boundless energy and made the best apple and lemon meringue pies, cream puffs and chow mein, all of which fueled our souls. She embraced her signature red lipstick, colorful scarves, shiny necklaces and her lifelong routine of weekly hair appointments.
Our mother is the beloved matriarch of the large family she leaves behind, and her goodness is what people will remember most about her.
She was extremely proud that the Dodgers recently won the World Series two years in a row and hoped to see them three-peat. We know our mom and dad will be watching together this year.
A funeral service at the chapel, followed by a graveside ceremony, will take place on March 21, 2026, which is our father’s birthday, starting at 11 a.m. at Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary in Whittier, where they will be laid to rest together. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
We will miss her dignity, hard work, and her special efforts to make the world a better place.
— Her sons
