Yoriko Miller

Yoriko Miller, 75 of Old Bridge, New Jersey passed away at her home on Sunday, July 23, 2023, surrounded and loved by her family. Born Sunday, March 21, 1948 in Fukuoka, Japan, Yoriko was one of six children born to the late Hideo and Miyako Kawabe. Raised in Hakata, after graduating high school and working at Tamaya Department Store, Yoriko met and soon fell in love with Joseph Miller, a U.S. soldier who was stationed in Saitozaki at the time. The couple married at the American Consulate on November 27, 1967. Six months later the wedded couple moved to the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge where their first two children were born. They eventually settled in South Old Bridge where their third child was born. Yoriko worked many years as a waitress at The Shiki restaurant in Middletown, one of the first hibachi restaurants in the area, before opening the Ichi-Raku Japanese restaurant in the Deep Run shopping Center in Old Bridge. Yoriko was a member of the Tamarack Golf course where she enjoyed spending time with friends on the green. She was incredibly talented at sewing, knitting, crocheting and all forms of crafting. Nothing made her happier than mending and making items for other people. Yoriko was an avid gardener; saving orchids, growing her own vegetables as well as tending to the landscaping surrounding her house. Additionally, she was an excellent cook and baker. Everyone looked forward to her sushi at family gatherings. She very much enjoyed monthly get-togethers with her best friends, bonding through homemade Japanese food and conversation. More than anything, Yoriko loved being the matriarch of her family and being such a large part of her children's and grandchildren's lives. Yoriko was a loving and caring woman who always put others first, an excellent role model and will be deeply missed by all those that love her. Yoriko was predeceased by her parents and brother Kazuto Kawabe. Yoriko is survived by her beloved husband, Joseph, by her loving children, Catherine Fisco and her husband Robert, Joseph Miller III and his wife Amber, and Gregory T Miller and his wife Anna, by her caring siblings in Japan, Akira Kawabe, Shinya Shibata, Hiroko Anai, and Fusayo Ohmaru, by her cherished grandchildren, Miyako, Naomi, Joseph, Brooke, Ryan, Dean, Ella, and Angus, and by her closest friends who were her support system. The family will receive friends for a memorial gathering from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at Michael Hegarty & John Vincent Scalia Home For Funerals and Cremation Service, 3377 US Highway 9, Old Bridge, New Jersey.

Yoriko Miller

March 21, 1948 - July 23, 2023