Obituary of Rachel Uiko Kowal

Rachel Uiko Kowal (born Uiko Hashiguchi) passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 4, 2023 at the age of 89 in Reston, Virgina. Rachel was born on August 14, 1933 in Tokyo, Japan to Masaru Hashiguchi and Kesano Fukuda. As a girl, Rachel loved American movies and dreamed of living in the United States. As an adult, she worked at the Tokyo office of J. Walter Thompson while taking care of her ailing mother. In 1967, at the age of 33, Rachel fulfilled her lifelong dream to move to the United States, and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii where she met her ex-husband, Bruce Kowal. In 1973, Rachel moved to New York with Bruce and their two young daughters, and on October 2, 1974, she became a citizen of her beloved country.  In 1978, the family moved to Rowlett, Texas where Rachel worked for Texas Instruments until her retirement in 1996. In 2010, Rachel moved to Loudoun County, VA to be close to her younger daughter and new grandson. She stayed in Loudoun County until moving to Reston, VA in 2022. 

Rachel was incredibly good with her hands and channeled her creative energy into many different disciplines. In her youth, she learned the art of Tsumami-Zaiku, which creates flowers from silk, and she painted pictures in watercolors and oils as well. She was a talented dressmaker and sewed beautiful clothes for herself and her daughters. Later on in her life she became skilled at crocheting and knitting, making gifts especially for her grandchildren when they were born. Rachel was also a keen cook who always had time to make delicious homemade food for her family. Some of her favorite cuisines to cook were Japanese, Italian, Mexican and American. Rachel was famously easy going and good natured, ready with a smile and easy to make laugh. She enjoyed watching movies, listening to opera and classical music and doing anything with her family. In her later years, the thing that brought her the most joy was seeing her grandchildren.

Rachel was a loving daughter, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt. She is survived by her daughters, Susannah Hall of Shropshire, England and Elizabeth Chapel of Washington, DC, her grandchildren Olivia Hall, Oscar Hall and Alistair Chapel, her sister Mihoko Reedy of Nashville, TN, and her brothers Masatoshi Hashiguchi and Masayuki Hashiguchi of Tokyo, Japan. Per her wishes, Rachel’s ashes will be scattered in the ocean off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii.