Sue Atsuko Kawashima passed away on April 10, 2024 at the age of 95. She was born in Japan on March 26, 1929.

In the 1950s, she taught herself English, and worked at the U.S. Embassy in Nagoya, where she met her future husband, Toshikuni; they married in 1961 and had a daughter, Teruko, in ensuing years. The family moved to New York in 1977, where Toshikuni worked for the United Nations.

Sue began her studies at Columbia University with a B.A. in General Studies, then went on to receive M.A. and M. Phil. degrees in Art History from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia. She subsequently founded the Japanese Program at Hunter College, City University of New York, and taught Japanese language and culture there from 1987 until her retirement in 2018 at the age of 89. Her publications include A Dictionary of Japanese Particles, published by Kodansha International and Oxford University Press (1999), which is known as one of the "Best Five" Japanese language reference works, and A Girl's Record, Around That Time: 1935-8/15/1945 and 9/11/2001 published by Kodansha (2006), a World War II memoir.

She has been awarded a medal of honor from the Japanese government for her lifelong service in bridging the cultures of the United States and Japan.

She is survived by her husband and daughter, as well as her grandson, Kai.

An interment will take place at a later date.