Hiroko Wang

January 7, 1938 - April 30, 2019

Hiroko (Satonaka) Wang passed away on April 30, 2019, the final day of the Heisei era, in Ise, one of Japan’s holiest cities located in the prefecture of Mie. She was born not far from Ise in the small fishing village of Asoura also located in Mie. Although Hiroko was born and passed in Mie, Japan, she traveled a great distance during her life that spanned three continents. Hiroko was born January 7, 1938 to Tokujiro and Ritsu Satonaka as the youngest of six siblings. While only a toddler, her father Tokujiro suddenly passed away leaving her mother, Ritsu, to care for six children alone. Growing up during and after World War 2 era Japan where food was scarce, Hiroko and her siblings learned to farm and fish to live a subsistence lifestyle. Farming was such an important part of her upbringing that it became a passion she carried into her adult life. Another important part of her life in Mie was the family business of culturing pearls, which is a skill she learned early on and traveled across Japan to teach. While working in the pearl business, Hiroko met Wen Pang Wang whose family bought and sold pearls. The two fell madly in love and decided to leave everything they knew behind to start a new life in Brazil as a married couple. After spending almost a decade in Brazil, Hiroko and Wen Pang decided to come to America where they had and raised a son in Fort Lee, NJ. Hiroko was an extremely dedicated mother who made sure to provide her son with all the advantages of schooling and lessons that she never had. Always a warm and friendly person, Hiroko would meet and greet new members of her community in Fort Lee where she lived till her elder age. Despite having spent a greater part her life in the States and in Brazil, Hiroko was proud to be Japanese and never relinquished her Japanese citizenship. She decided to return to her home prefecture of Mie, Japan to spend her final moments. Memorial service to be held on Friday, May 10th 6-8pm at Hunt-Stellato Funeral Home, 1601 Palisade Ave, Fort Lee, NJ.