offwego2

Not sure how many of the "old-timers" are still on this forum. It's been a while for me as well.

I am sadly sharing the news of KimJapan's passing after a long struggle with MSA. In memoriam, Kim's husband and daughter are encouraging donations to the Ponheary Ly Foundation in Cambodia, which Kim strongly supported for the last 15 years.

She was a warrior. May she rest in peace.

Lori & Ponheary

Mara

I definitely remember KimJapan.....RIP.

jacketwatch

May she RIP.

mrwunrfl

oh, no

laurieco

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear this. KimJapan was a big help to those of us who traveled to Japan, and an asset to the forum.

mjs

I shall miss her

kanadajin

I most definitely remember her as well, she offered very pertinent advice and comments. I was wondering why I had not seen her here for quite a while. So sad to hear the news. RIP

lcuy

She was a such a big part of the Asia forum, back when Japan was not on many Fodorites' radar! She was always a source of good info on Asia, and a huge supporter of the PLF. We tried to cross paths several times, but it never happened. My sympathies to her daughter and husband.

crellston

Sad to hear this news, condolences to her family and friend. It was on her advice that we ended up spending a week or so staying at The Seven Candles Guest house and met Ponheary Ly and saw the great works she was doing . A very worth cause to support in Kims memory. RIP

thursdaysd

I am very sorry to hear this. She was so kind to me when I was limping around Japan with a sprained ankle. She went to the doctor with me and translated, and helped keep my trip on track. She also drove me up to Shinakawa-go, which I really appreciated.

sudipsarkar5538

I'm truly saddened to hear about KimJapan's departure. Their valuable contributions made navigating Japan a breeze for travelers like myself, and their presence was a true asset to the forum.

Kathie

Lori,
Thanks for letting us know. Kim was an active member of the Asia forum, and helped many of us travel to Japan. Cheryl and I met up with her, her husband and her daughter doing our trip to Japan. She was a wonderful person.

Many of us don't get to Fodors very often any more. It is nice to see familiar names on this thread.

Loi, can we contact Rich and Teagan via her old email address?

And I will gladly donate to the PLF in her memory.

mrwunrfl

I emailed the Teaghan address in June and four years ago but got no reply,

I visited Kim back in 2002 and she showed me around to a few of the sites. In 2005 we had sushi with her family. Teaghan was 7 and I remember her asking about the meaning/pronunciation of some not uncommon English word and her father explained it to her in Japanese. We all had dinner with one of Teaghan's Japanese friends when she was 14 and was very much the Japanese teen, except taller and Western. I should not have been surprised at how Japanese T was given that she was born and raised in Japan.

Mara, my last visit with Kim was the week after you, ht, and I met in Tokyo and had dinner. I wonder if Peter knows about Kim. At that time. Kim had gone beyond helping with the Kanazawa city tourisn promotion effort and was starting a higher-end custom tour agency, The Art of Travel.. I was enlisted as a test case for a private tour. Kim mentioned her condition, and I noticed it later. She said that she would probably stay in Japan because of the medical insurance there and treatment in the US would be too expensive.

This was Kim at one of the stops:

Mara

mrwunrfl - yes, I remember that dinner - very nice! I could have sworn I saw ht post here not too long ago with a slightly different username - I looked a bit through a bunch of posts but didn't find anything....
I don't know how to search by username.....

hawaiiantraveler

Yes, I did hear about this on November 24th by a letter from her husband Rich.. We were traveling in New Zealand at that time. I will share with you the letter from Rich that was sent out to friends and family.

"Hello, this is Kim’s husband, Rich.
Teaghan and I would like tell everyone that after a very long battle with MSA, Kim passed at 9:45 pm Wednesday.
She fought long and hard for over 15 years but passed peacefully on her own terms with Teaghan and I by her side.
We hope that she will be remembered for her strong will, sense of humor and ability to get things done. She was able to accomplish anything she set her mind to.
She was an excellent teacher, waitress, travel advisor and, her most important job, mother.
As we have no faith, we are not planning a funeral or any service of remembrance at this time. Teaghan and I are planning to visit the places most important to Kim and help her say goodbye and we hope that people will be able to join with us at those times.
Since there will be no service, no flowers will be necessary. We ask that if you’d like please send a donation to the Ponheary Li Foundation (https://www.theplf.org/) in Cambodia. We as a family have been passionate about Ponheary’s work since we first met her almost 20 years ago and reflects Kim’s passion as an educator.
Finally, I can not thank enough all the doctors, nurses and home helpers, who came to our house every day and helped us. They are simply wonderful people.
An especially big thank you to our friend, Momoka, who came and massaged Kim every day."

Linda and I were very saddened to hear about this. We met Kim and Rich in Kanazawa one year where she hosted a wonderful dinner with us at Arroz (a Spanish Restaurant) in Kanazawa and arraigned a rare private Geisha performance for Bob, Karen,Craig, Jean, Linda and I which was unforgettable. She was my Japan mentor and I told her so when we met. She will be sorely missed. You all can reach Rich via Kim's Facebook account under the name "Kimberly Burnham Keefe" which he now is running for a bit.

Nice to see so many familiar and sorely missed faces up on this thread. Thanks Lucy for bringing this thread to my attention!

Aloha!