Kunie Dech

Kunie Dech, age 95 of Kettering, passed away on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at Hospice of Dayton. She was born August of 1925 in Fukuoka, Japan to the late Tatsuzo and Misao Kajiwara. In addition to her parents, she is also preceded in death by her husband, Edwin P. Dech; sister, Tamie and her brother, Haruyoshi Kajiwara.

Kunie is survived by her two daughters, Jeanne (Douglas) Puthoff and Carol Dech; two grandchildren, Nicole and Samantha Puthoff. She is also survived by her niece, Harumi Nakajima, many other nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Kunie was a homemaker who loved her family and enjoyed cooking both American and Japanese style cuisine for them. Her hobbies included listening to music, sewing and knitting, working out at the Kettering Recreation Center, watching classic movies and watching football, especially The Ohio State Buckeyes. Kunie is well loved and will be dearly missed by all those who knew her.

How does one some up a life well lived almost a century in a few paragraphs? A few words that describe Mom would be stylish, feisty, modern, direct, dynamic and loving. She appreciated how lucky she has been to escape the atomic bomb as her city was the first target, but fate put clouds over Kokura that day which moved the target to another city. She was fortunate in health for 95 years and able to walk until her last 3 weeks. First and foremost, she was the loving wife to my Father Edwin Dech for 59 years! Dad met Mom when he served in the Air Force in Korea. They wed on September 2nd, 1961 in a small Catholic Parish in Tokyo, Japan. I believe her passing was caused by a broken heart due to missing her beloved husband with his recent passing a few months ago. As a Mom, she encouraged and enjoyed listening to Carol play the violin learning the Suzuki Method and encouraging me in art, volleyball, backpacking club and other numerous activities while supporting our individual personalities! We loved her stories of old Japanese customs, yet she had the ability to change and adapt to living in the United States learning a whole new culture and becoming a citizen. She also had a passion for listening to songs such as Stand By Me, Jazz music and others! She was bilingual in speech, writing fluent in English and her native Japanese. She could entertain the room with her silly humor. I remember her trying to elbow her way to the best deals at Downtown Dayton Days at Beermans often reaching the sought after bargains, her tiny 4 foot eleven inch body pushing forward with determination of a linebacker! She learned this technique in Japan, a skill she honed to get on the Tokyo subway! Now the memory just makes me laugh! This is part of her spirit which we all found so refreshing! Her grandchildren Nikki and Sammi loved to indulge with her in Japanese culture with old/new magazines, stories and even Anime movies. Sometimes she laughed at the oddest times (examples like Ninja Warrior come to mind) much to their delight which endeared her as a wonderful Grandma.

In lieu of a public funeral or memorial service, individual families are encouraged to have their own private memorial. She will be laid to rest at Dayton National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Dayton or the Greater Dayton American Heart Association.
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