Masako, of Northville, loving mother and grandmother, passed into eternal life at home on Thursday, morning, June 9, 2022, under the gracious care of her devoted daughter and grandsons. She was 91.

Surviving are her devoted daughter, Noriko Ernst, and grandsons, Raymond Ryu Ernst and Zachary Taiju Ernst.

In addition to her husband and sons, Masako was preceded in death by siblings, Junko, Noriko and Masakazu Sato.

Masako Kasahara was born in Kokura, a Southern area of Japan, to Shoichi and Ishi (Ikegami) Sato as their fourth and last child in 1931. She struggled through air raids during World War II, along with malnutrition and Tuberculosis, the latter of which took her mother and brother's lives.

Her maternal grandfather, Tatsuji Ikegami, was an associate pastor at a Baptist church; a rare instance during their time in Japan, where Christianity was regarded as a foreign religion. Consequently, he was excommunicated from his village and experienced severe poverty, which caused him to lose four of his five children.

His only survived child, Ishi, was a devout Christian who established a kindergarten on the premises of Yahata Baptist Church. The Baptist missionaries Ishi worked with inspired her to send Masako to Seinan Jo-Gakuin, an all-girl Christian high school that they had established.

After graduating, she started her work as an administrative assistant in Tokyo at the American Embassy.

Several years later, she shifted her position to assistant secretary at a bank within a U. S. Armed Forces base in Tokorozawa, where she met her future husband Sadao, who was her supervisor. In July of 1960, They were married at Higashi-Murayama Baptist Church; eventually having a son, Sadamasa, in 1963 and a daughter, Noriko, in 1964.

Shortly after Noriko was born, she had to go back to work at the Embassy as the main breadwinner, since her husband's small company went bankrupt. He was also hospitalized due to an ulcer for a few months.

One day, in 1969, when they were on a train to a city near Tokyo, they met a man who was looking for people who could understand English for his new company. Their ability to translate English to Japanese allowed Sadao and Masako to be hired during that small trip as president's secretaries at Rheon Automatic Machinery Co. Ltd. where she worked until retirement at age 58.

After her retirement, Masako decided to study Theology and Pastoral Care at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. One of the deciding factors to come to NC was to thank a missionary named Frances Talley who was living in NC at the time. Frances encouraged Masako to be baptized while she was in Japan. Sadao allowed Masako to live away from him for 2 years, saying he wanted to thank her for being the best thing happened to him in his life.

While Masako was studying there, she recommended Noriko to come join her to study church music/music ministry there. At that time, Noriko was to graduate in a few months from a conservatory with a degree in piano performance, so she gladly joined her mother with a dream that one day they would minister together at a church in Japan.

Masako graduated the seminary in May 1990, and while Noriko continued her study at another seminary in Kentucky, she continued working at Utsunomiya Baptist Church. There, Masako started a small group called "Chitose-kai" ("Thousand-year club") that was designed for non-believer elderlies as a part of their evangelical efforts. Several people decided to be baptized while she was the coordinator.

In April of 1996, she was asked to become the interim pastor at the church, since the current pastor had left.  It was truly rare that a 65-year old woman would be asked to step in to lead a church, especially in Japan. She was well respected by the people and faithfully served until June 30, 1999.

She lost her son unexpectedly from Ischemic heart disease on June 24, 2008.

On March 11, 2011, Japan had the largest earthquake in its history that made their house unstable. As Masako's dementia was getting worse, the pastor of Utsunomiya Baptist church told Noriko that it was time for her parents to be in a nursing home or to move into her house in Michigan. After searching for places to live in Japan, they found that the facilities they could live together were full and would not have a room for them within 10 years. So, on November 23, 2012, Noriko came and sold their house so she could bring them to Michigan.

They became Catholic on March 30, 2013, at Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington, MI. Masako lost her husband of 55 years on March 15, 2015. Since then, she suffered 3 falls but recovered. She also survived Covid in September 2021 with almost no symptoms. She was almost always with her daughter and seen together by the piano/organ in church or inside Noriko's office. She greeted anyone (even to a stranger) with a big smile and always gave the compliment "You look beautiful and healthy!"

She was a person of strong faith and prayers. Her bottomless optimism and a sense of humor uplifted many people she encountered. Her favorite line from the Bible was "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Roman 8:28)"

Masako's funeral mass will be celebrated Wednesday morning, June 15, at 10:00 am, at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, 23615 Power Road, Farmington.  Reverend Fr. Mark Brauer will celebrate mass.  Con-celebrants will include Frs. Ptak, Amore, Bechill, and Graney.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to further honor Masako's life may contribute to the Music Ministry at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish .

Kindly keep Masako and her family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.