Charlene (Eng) Ko

Please note: the celebration for Char Ko’s life has been rescheduled for Tuesday, July 18, 2023 @11:00 AM at Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church, 3001 24th Ave. S., Seattle WA  98144

Charlene (Eng) Ko passed away peacefully on May 4, 2023 surrounded by her loving family. Born on May 8, 1938 in Seattle, to Yippe and Lee Shee Eng, Char was the seventh of eight children. Char grew up in Canton Alley #3 until the age of 4 when the family moved to Beacon Hill. Char attended Bailey Gatzert Elementary, Beacon Hill Jr. High, and graduated from Cleveland High School in 1956. While she was in high school, she met her husband Tom at Chinese Baptist Church, and they were soon married. In 1964 Tom & Char purchased their first home on Beacon Hill where they lived until her passing.

In high school, Char was a Song Leader (now called cheerleader), a member of the Cleveland High Girls Club, the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team, and played basketball in the Buddhist league on a team sponsored by Ruby Chow. After high school, Char worked at George Louie’s Restaurant and the Federal Reserve Bank, where she worked for 31 years until she retired in 1998 to help take care of her grandson, Dillon. In the early 1970’s, Char became the sole breadwinner for the family while Tom went back to school at the University of Washington to get his undergraduate degree, and subsequently his Master's degree.

Family was everything to Char. She loved her family very much and thoroughly enjoyed being a part of her children's and grandchildren’s lives. Char was proud to attend her children’s and grandchildren’s sports games, school events, piano recitals, graduations, and most recently, her granddaughter Karina’s wedding.

Char loved sharing her life history and early childhood experiences growing up in Chinatown and “The Big House” on Beacon Hill. Char had a creative eye, known for her floral designs, gift wrapping, Christmas decorating, and loving greeting cards. She enjoyed shopping, dancing, listening to jazz music, and cooking. Char was known for bringing her Chinese barbecue spareribs and raspberry Jell-O to family and social gatherings.

With such a warm, bubbly, and curious personality, Char was sure to ask you about what you were up to, who you were with, and what you were eating. Conversations with Char would reveal her amazing memory, as she took the time to remember the smallest details about the ones she cared about. She had a knack for remembering people and their relationships and always knew who was related to whom. She was the sweetest, kindest, most generous, and fun-loving soul and will be missed by so many.

Char, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, is survived by her husband of 65 years, Thomas, daughter Jana Yamamoto (Donald), daughter-in-law Melinda Ko, and grandchildren Karina Ikeda (Chad) and Dillon Yamamoto. She is also survived by siblings Kathleen Chan, Florence Spencer, Pauline Eng, Ronald Eng (Melinda), Gladys Lee (Norman), Coreen Lee, brother-in-law Daniel Ko (Shirley), and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Char is preceded in death by her sons Crevin Ko, Creig Ko, grandsons Matthew and Derrick Yamamoto, and sister Eleanor Louie.

A celebration of Char's life will be held at 11:00am on July 18, 2023 at Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church, 3001 - 24th Avenue South in Seattle, Washington.

In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Char may be made to The American Cancer Society ( donate.cancer.org ), Swedish Medical Center ( swedishfoundation.org ) or your favorite charity.

- Care Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Services Lake View -