Mutsuko "Rosie" Foss

Mutsuko Foss passed away on March 18, 2021 at Daybreak Villas in Escondido.

She was born on April 14, 1928 in Tokyo Japan, the middle child of nine in a restaurant family. She and her family endured and survived the fire bombings of Tokyo and the hardships of war and its aftermath. During the occupation, her family was befriended by U.S. military personnel and, as a young adult, she was employed by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sea Transport Service. She came to the U.S. in 1957, studied cosmetology and became a hairdresser. Building on her data entry skills, she secured a job at a bank in Long Beach and worked up to a teller position—while also working in a beauty salon and helping out as a waitress in a friend’s Japanese restaurant. 

In 1969, she met her husband-to-be, Glen Foss, while he was serving in the Navy in Long Beach. They were married on June 7, 1970. In 1974, she and her sister opened Escondido’s first Japanese restaurant, Michi’s Tea House. Years later, she and a partner operated Tokyo Beauty Salon on East Valley Parkway. During their 50 years of marriage, she and Glen lived in Illinois (where their daughter was born), Escondido and Texas before returning to Escondido in 1995, then briefly in Rancho Penasquitos.

After retirement, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and began a long journey with dementia, spending her final five years in memory care.

 She was a member of House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Escondido.

Rosie loved her grandchildren, cooking, dancing (on stage and at Elks dinner dances), and Las Vegas—especially the buffets and video poker.

She is survived by her husband, Glen Foss of Valley Center, daughter Emiko (David) Jaffe of San Diego; grandchildren Sara Jaffe and Calvin Jaffe; nephews Keiji (Minami) Watanabe of Anaheim Hills; Toshiji (Rumi) Watanabe of Cary, NC; Nobuyuki (Keiko) Watanabe of Hacienda Heights; and numerous grand and great-grand nieces and nephews.

Memorial gifts may be made to Alzheimer’s San Diego, www.alzsd.org.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mutsuko "Rosie" Foss, please visit our floral store.