Ko Tsukada

Ko Tsukada, a resident of Santa Barbara, was born in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan on May 2, 1934. He went to be with the Lord at the end of March 2018. In the late 1960s, Ko came to Santa Barbara to attend college. He obtained a degree at Santa Barbara City College and then went on to earn a BA at UCSB followed by master’s degrees in Political Science and Education Administration. He worked for many years at the International Transducer Company of Goleta and also taught Japanese language classes at SBCC. He was an active and beloved member of Bethany Congregational Church. In his later years, Ko remained fit, keeping busy with his many hobbies. He loved to ride his bicycle around town, continuing to ride several miles a day until the last week of his life. He was involved in the Milpas Community Association and the local Sierra club, hiking on Friday evenings and even hiking many parts of the Sierras. In addition to biking and hiking, Ko made pottery and he will be remembered for playing hymns on his harmonica at church. He was also proud to have been a translator at the 1984 LA Olympics. Ko stayed single all of his life. He is survived by his brothers, Shu and Jun, both of Japan, as well as nieces and nephews. Ko will be dearly missed by his friends at the Sierra Club and Bethany Congregational Church as well as friends and family in Japan. There will be a memorial service to celebrate Ko’s life at Bethany Congregational Church, 556 N. Hope Ave, Santa Barbara on Saturday April 21, 2018 at 1:00pm. (According to his wishes, memorial donations can be made to Bethany Congregational Church)