At Last, a Chance to Say ‘Thank You’

BACKGROUND: For 50 years, Roy Ito, 62, of Monterey Park, has wanted to locate and thank the woman who befriended his dying sister, Emiko, in 1942 (“A Brother’s Unending Sorrow,” Feb. 10).

UPDATE: Recently, Ito did just that at a reunion luncheon with Isabelle Clifton Yancy (both pictured below). For two hours, he and his siblings--Hiro, 67, and Yone, 76--listened intently as Yancy, an 85-year-old Compton woman, spoke about Emi’s last days.

In 1942, Ito was 12 years old. His father was arrested and his family was sent to internment camps. Emi--who had a heart condition--became so ill that she was moved from the camp hospital at Santa Anita Park to County General Hospital (now County-USC).

Except for one hospital visit, Ito and his family never saw Emi again. But Emi wasn’t alone. She had a friend in Yancy, a hospital secretary, who visited her five times a day for two months before Emi’s death on Nov. 3, 1942.

Yancy remembered their conversations about family and friends. “We laughed a lot too,” Yancy said.

“I am so glad that Emi had you, that she wasn’t completely alone,” Ito said.

“Emi needed somebody and I was there,” said Yancy. “I always say, ‘Don’t do things for rewards.’ And now look at me. This is my reward--sitting next to you.”