Yuriko Lillian “Charko” Otani (nee Nakamura), 87, was born on March 11, 1931 in Pasadena, California and passed away on May 2, 2018.
Charko was a happy child when World War II began, and her life changed in a big way. Her father—who was a proprietor of a grocery store—her mother, herself, and four siblings had to leave their life in Pasadena behind and were placed in an internment camp in Tulare, Arizona. As a young girl, Charko made the best of a challenging situation.
After the internment camps, Charko and her family relocated to New Jersey and worked at Seabrook Farms. Upon high school graduation, Charko moved to New York City to study at Cooper Union. At one of her jobs, she created the ingenious window displays in Saks Fifth Avenue windows that were enjoyed by many.
While living in Manhattan, she met and married Herbert Otani and started a family of six children (Diana, Laura, Glen, Julia, David and Robert).
After taking a long break to raise her children in River Vale, Charko returned to Cooper Union in her 40s to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She graduated with honors in 1976, and after receiving her teaching certificate, taught at Northern Valley High school as an art teacher.
In 1990 she was acknowledged by President George H.W. Bush as the 470th “Point of Light” for spearheading a project to create handmade quilts for the babies at the Aids Resource Foundation for Children. During the 1989 inaugural address, President George H. W. Bush said, “We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light…we all have something to give.” She was also acknowledged in 1991 as an outstanding teacher by the New Jersey Governor’s Teachers Recognition Program, for teaching art experience, media, composition and sculpture.
After teaching, Charko was ready for a new challenge. In her 60s, she decided to move into the field of computer arts and taught herself Quark, Photoshop, and other software. She worked at two newspapers as a graphic artist where she created advertisement pages and layouts.
Charko was a prolific artist, creating sculptures in bronze and ceramic, painting in oil and watercolor, creating large themed quilts, and needlepointing. In 1990, she had a public art show and shared her vast collection of artwork.
In addition to art, Charko loved Derek Jeter and the whole Yankee family. She never missed a game, listening on her headset or watching the games in the evening. She even met Jeter in person, and had a life-size cardboard cutout of him created! If she wasn’t listening to a baseball game, she was listening to Elvis, Harry Chapin, or The Beatles.
Charko spent years riding her bike all over the place, and she completed two NYC five-borough bike tours that were 36 miles each. She swam at the Ridgewood YMCA for many years, became certified as a lifeguard in her 50s, and developed many long lasting friendships with her fellow swimmers.
For over fifty years, Charko vacationed in Cape Cod. According to everyone who knew her, she marched to the beat of her own drum and was an overall inspiration to everyone.
She is survived by her six children, seven grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and her sister, Shizuko Horii. Her husband, Herbert, passed away in 1989.