Taiko Fujinami

Taiko “Terry” Fujinami

Taiko (Kawaguchi) Fujinami, 99, passed away June 25, 2026. She was born January 6, 1927 to Taiji Kawaguchi and Tochi Tsuboi at Terminal Island, California. As a young girl, Taiko’s family put their belongings on a train, and relocated to Utah at the beginning of WWII.

Taiko married the love of her life, Mitsuru Fujinami, September 19, 1948. They settled in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had two sons, Robert and Michael. Taiko worked for Brown Floral for several years. She then graduated from Stevens-Henager College and worked as a bookkeeper for Western General Insurance. She also was very active in the Buddhist Temple. Taiko enjoyed her granddaughters. Her fondest memories were of them sleeping over Thanksgiving night and going to a children’s movie with grandma and grandpa the day after.

Taiko is survived by a brother Kouki Kawaguchi, sons Robert (Christie) Fujinami of Salt Lake City, Michael (Jane) Fujinami of Murray, two granddaughters Christi (Kevan) Donley of Sandy, Ashley (Sean) Handy of Wisconsin, and many nieces and nephews.She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Mitsuru, brothers Mike and Henry Kawaguchi, and sister Yoshiko Kaneko.

A private family get together will be planned at a later date per her wishes.