Kiyoko Schroeter

Kiyoko Nakachi Schroeter, a long-time member of the Santa Barbara community passed away peacefully at home with family at her side on May 26, 2026. She was known in the community as a forty year plus participant in the Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts Beach Show where she sold a variety of hand-crafted items over the years – kimono jackets, little girl’s dresses, visors, bucket hats, purses, sunglass cases and macrame bracelets and pendants. Longtime repeat customers from across the state and country would make it a habit to drop by and chat whenever they were in Santa Barbara.

Kiyoko was also well known in the tennis community, playing in tournaments and leagues with her husband and fellow tennis enthusiasts. And yes, she somewhat reluctantly made the transition to pickleball. Always a fierce and motivated competitor, she nonetheless took great delight in playing with and encouraging those new to the sport.

Her greatest joy in life though was as a mother to her two sons. With an inspiring and whole-hearted devotion, she built a solid foundation for them during those critically important formative years. As they grew older, she relished attending their many athletic competitions and academic milestone events. It gave her great comfort in the last weeks of her life to see her sons in long-term stable and happy relationships. Her two grandchildren were especially precious to her.

Kiyoko met her husband Tim at the Camp Kue US Army Hospital in Okinawa in 1970, where they both worked in the chemistry department of the hospital clinical laboratory, she as medical technologist and Tim as a medical lab specialist.

Kiyoko represented the very best of Okinawan (Uchinanchu) culture that is noted for its friendly and welcoming attitude towards strangers. That she embraced and radiated that spirit is even more remarkable given the tragedies she experienced during WWII. She survived the Battle of Okinawa as a four-year-old, hiding in the family tomb with her maternal grandfather, mother and young uncle. Her father had been conscripted by the Japanese imperial army and sent to fight in China ten days before she was born. In the aftermath of the battle, her young mother succumbed to illness and was buried on the side of the road as they were marched to a relocation camp miles away from where they had been hiding.

Growing up in the aftermath of the war brought continuing challenges and hardships. Her greatest joy during those difficult times was going to school. Always an eager, resourceful and accomplished student, she was able to afford the $1/month high school tuition by renting magazines in a tiny bookstore late into the evening. After graduating from Okinawa International University with a degree in English literature, she was able to secure secretarial and administrative positions with the US military. She eventually was able to secure a three-year course of study and training as a medical technologist.

When her husband Tim fulfilled his military obligation and separated from the service in Okinawa, they booked passage on a container ship that allowed them to tour much of southeast Asia before eventually arriving in Los Angeles. On a visit to Tim’s older brother who was finishing his doctoral studies at UCSB, they quickly fell in love with Santa Barbara and decided to make it their home in 1972. A decade later they were able to buy a fixer upper on the mesa that Kiyoko almost single handedly terraformed and landscaped into a thriving and productive food forest. Over the years, tons of avocados, citrus, and stone fruit have been gifted to family and friends.

Kiyoko died as she lived, with a heart full of love and a pure, childlike wonder at what lay ahead. She and her family are grateful for all the love and support received during this transition, especially from the VNAhospice team. Kiyoko is survived by her husband of 54 years Tim, her sons Everett (Tu Anh), Peter (Amy), grandchildren Austin and Ava and many loving in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins in both Okinawa and the Americas.

An informal gathering to celebrate Kiyoko’s life will be announced at a later date.