- Date Of Birth: April 2, 1922
- Date Of Death: June 24, 2015
- State: Idaho
Edna Yoshiko Tasaki Hedges Johnson, born April 2, 1922, in Ewa, Oahu, Hawaii, passed away peacefully in her Boise home with family by her side on June 24.
As a free-spirited young girl in Hawaii, she was known for climbing trees, swimming, picking wild fruits, catching fish, and lying about her age to work in the sugar cane fields. She also excelled in school, moving to Japan to continue her Shinto studies.
She spent the war living as an undocumented American in Japan, selling fish and rice from the family farm and taking odd jobs to survive, living in constant fear of being discovered. In travelling the country she experienced the devastation war brings, even venturing through a decimated Hiroshima while searching for relatives in the country-side.
It wasn’t until the start of the Korean War that Edna finally returned to the States. She met a young marine, Leslie Hedges, in Kyoto. With the help of the office of the late Senator Daniel Inouye, they were able to prove her citizenship and marry. Over the years they were stationed across the America Southwest, East Coast, and Germany, while raising a daughter. They eventually retired in Mountain Home, Idaho, where Edna owned and operated a well-known laundromat and bar.
After Leslie passed, Edna moved to Boise to be closer to Evyline. She kept busy by playing bingo, fishing, dancing the night away, and making friends at Cactus Pete’s.
Edna found love again later in life, one night at her favorite dance. Their relationship was only a brief couple years, but Albert Johnson whisked her off her feet, introducing her to Alaska, his amazing cherry tree, and tennis. Even though he passed away, Edna continued to celebrate their time together by playing weekly with the Boise Tennis Coalition until her 91st birthday.
Edna loved feeding every person and animal (domestic or not).
