The family of Kazumi Rouleau is saddened to announce her passing of sudden cardiac arrest in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on 23 November 2024. Kazumi is survived by her husband Terry, her sons Kentaro and Brandon, as well as her sisters Akemi and Masami and nieces Keiko, Masako and Yasuko.
Kazumi was born in Tokyo, Japan to the late Toshio and Misako Shigematsu on 09 November 1958, She grew up in Japan and New York City, studied and lived in Ottawa and later fulfilled her career in high tech at IBM in Tel Aviv and Amsterdam. Kazumi approached the roles in her life, be they daughter, wife, mother and career, with quiet, and sometimes not so quiet, determination. A ceremony in her honour will be held at the Tochoji Buddhist temple in Tokyo at a later date. Special thanks to our extended Dutch family for taking such care of Kazumi at her time of passing.
“When someone you love dies, and you’re not expecting it, you don’t lose her all at once: you lose her in pieces over a long time - the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers. Gradually you accumulate the parts of her that are gone. Just when the day comes - when there’s a particular missing part that overwhelms you with the feeling that she’s gone forever - there comes another day, and another specifically missing part”
John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany