Keiko Reddoch, 89, died peacefully April 9, 2018, in home hospice in Madison surrounded by the loving presence of family throughout her last weeks of life.

The youngest of eleven children, Keiko was born March 17, 1929, in Fukushima-ken, Japan to Kin Oomori and Shinnosuke Tominaga. Following her parents’ deaths at her very young age, she was raised by her aunt and uncle, Chiyo and Hiro Nosku Tominaga. 

Keiko moved to Tokyo in 1947, where she would later meet and marry Donald Reddoch, a young U.S. Army soldier stationed there from Vicksburg. They started their family in Japan, continuing on to Donald’s final military assignment at Ft. Lewis, Wash., then returned to Vicksburg in 1958, where their children subsequently grew to seven.

Keiko committed her life to raising her children, caring for her larger family, and serving the community, with an unyielding trust in God.  She also became a naturalized citizen in 1988, always proudly displaying the American flag at her front door. 

Keiko was called to the Catholic Faith in Japan through the experience of a close Japanese sister-in-law and the welcome of the French Jesuit mission there.  She was an active parishioner at St. Paul Catholic Church and an untiring parent volunteer in the Vicksburg Catholic Schools system, then St. Francis Xavier Academy and St. Aloysius High School.  

When her youngest child entered school, Keiko ventured out into the employed world, beginning with the neighborhood Jitney Jungle grocery store on Grove Street. She was affectionately known as “Kay” or “KayKay” and built a reputation as a hardworking, business savvy, kind and helpful clerk beloved by employers, co-workers, customers and vendors alike. She would move on to work at other grocery stores, making lifetime friends along the way. Fully retiring around 75, Keiko continued to serve in St. Paul’s Altar Society, bereavement committee, and meals-on-wheels, and volunteered with the Community Food Pantry. Many smilingly referred to her as “The Energizer Bunny.” 

Keiko thrived on family life around her, prompting her relocation to Boyce, La., to live with a daughter and son-in-law with younger children. There, she was a member of St. Frances Cabrini Church, Alexandria, La., and volunteered with Radio Maria USA and the Tekakwitha Conference. Deteriorating health brought her back closer to her Mississippi home.

Keiko never had the opportunity to return to Japan, but kept her family and friends there close in her heart; though many have passed, surviving niece and nephew Yuko and Akio Tominaga were clear in her memory.

A woman of great personal strength with a generous and grateful heart, Keiko leaves behind a large, multi-generational family who mourns her passing but takes comfort in cherished memories and the Love and Mercy of the Lord.

Besides Japanese family members, Keiko is preceded in death by her husband, Donald and oldest son, John.

She is survived by children, Shirley (Gregg Petersen) of Columbia, Md., Teresa (Pat Maloney) of Madison, Mary Ann (Les Groom) of Boyce, La., Michael of Colorado Springs, Colo., Anna (Jerome Booth) of Vicksburg, Joseph (Susan Thornton) of Fishers, Ind.; and daughter-in-law, Maureen Reddoch of New Orleans, La.; 15 grandchildren, Keiko, Brittani (Anderson), Emilee (Ricky), Jessica (Trey), Rebecca, Callista, John, Marie (Cale), Jerry, Cameron, Keiko Dea, Makenna, Alexandra, Clarissa, and Gabriella; four great-grandchildren, Brett, Averie, Aria, and Peter Joseph.

Keiko is also survived by her beloved sister-in-law, Shirley Ann with husband, George Roesch; and many cherished Roesch and Reddoch nieces; nephews; and cousins; along with their families and extended relations. (Brother-in-law, E.L.“Chunk” Reddoch Jr. of Lake Charles, La., predeceased.)

Funeral arrangements are through Frank J. Fisher Funeral Home, Vicksburg.

Services will be Thursday, April 19, 2018, at St. Paul Catholic Church in Vicksburg. Rosary will be at noon followed by visitation from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 2 p.m. with interment following at Cedar Hill Cemetery.   

In lieu of flowers, family suggests donations to Meals-On-Wheels, Storehouse Community Food Pantry of Vicksburg, Radio Maria USA, or St. Paul Catholic Church (meals-on-wheels, bereavement committee, or VCS), in memory of Keiko Reddoch.