Obituary of Eva Tabata

Eva Tabata passed away in Hollister, California on December 12, 2020 at the age of 95 years. Eva Tabata came into this life on February 14th, 1925, and began her new journey on December 12, 2020, at the age of 95, in Hollister, California. Eva is preceded in death by her parents, Mime and Goro Tabata, along with all five of her siblings: Ray, Lucille, Anne, James, and Flyer. She is survived by seven nieces and nephews; seven great-niece and nephews; and four great-great niece and nephews. Eva lived a full life, and was a true independent, Renaissance woman. In her early years she could be found proudly driving her mother’s Case wheel tractor cultivating the farm out on The Flats in Hollister. She was a young child when she and her siblings lost their father, and she became just as self-sufficient as her siblings, often tending to the home and its many responsibilities. Eva was interned with her fellow Japanese-Americans during World War II. Upon leaving internment camp with little to her name besides a bus ticket and a few dollars, she returned to Hollister, whereupon she became a beautician. Her beauty shop on Prune Street was a long-standing community staple. In the early 1970s she custom-built her home with contractor Joe Schmidt, putting her personal touch on every last detail. If you ever encountered Eva, you witnessed firsthand her phenomenal ability to garden, cook, and bake treats. If she wasn’t in the beauty shop, she spent her time in her garden, driving neighbors and friends to their appointments, sewing, baking and delivering treats, or creating a holiday feast with her sister Anne for the rest of the family. When their mother became ill, Eva cared for her day in and day out in her own home as her sole caretaker. On behalf of her family, we express our deepest gratitude to the entire staff at Mabie North Skilled Nursing Home, where Eva spent her last six years on this earth in their very capable hands. The family will be holding a private family burial at a date in the near future. In lieu of donations or flowers, we ask that you pay it forward: bake a pie or some cookies, give your time to a friend in need, send a kind note, help a neighbor, tell someone a story to lift their spirits – all the actions Eva did every day of her very fruitful life.