Bessie Setsuko Boone (Koshio)

Bessie Setsuko Boone (nee Koshio) passed away on Friday, March 13, 2026, surrounded by family. She was 92 years old and the last surviving Nisei (second generation Japanese American) member of the Koshio family.

Lovingly known to her family as “Setsu”, Bessie was born on February 20, 1934, in Fort Lupton, Colorado, the seventh of nine living children to Japanese immigrants—mother, Shime (Morimitsu), and father, Taneji Koshio. She grew up working hard on the family farm and attended Fort Lupton High School, followed by secretarial school. Bessie always had a rebellious, independent spirit. She was known for her huge smile, big laugh, wonderful hugs, and exclamations of “ridiculous!” about anything and everything.

In the 1950s, Bessie moved to California and was the first in her generation of the family to marry outside of the Japanese American culture (Donald Palmer, divorced). She moved back to Colorado with her son, Troy (Palmer), in the 1960s and began a 30+ year career with General Motors, through which she learned a great deal about the automotive industry, but also found great joy in assisting many family and extended family members to purchase their own automobiles.

As a single, working mother, Bessie not only raised her son on her own, but also became the President of the group, Parents Without Partners, for five years. She organized and executed gatherings and outings through this group that allowed single parents to spend time with their children while supporting each other. Through this organization, she met Thomas “Tom” D. Boone in 1970, and they married in 1985.

Bessie loved family, friends, and community. She and Tom made special memories with their granddaughter, Marissa (Palmer), while swimming together at casino pools in Las Vegas. Back in Colorado “grandma weasel, grandpa weasel and baby weasel” would spend time spying on prairie dogs in vacant lots.

She shone as a member of the “Prancing Prunettes”, a dancing (while laughing) ensemble of her sisters, making many memorable Koshio Family Reunion appearances. Her son, Troy, shares her sense of humor and she would take credit for his similar personality by declaring: he’s “my fault”. She was proud to be the Building Coordinator and head of the Building Welcome Committee for her condo building for many years, always bringing in new friends and making sure her neighbors were comfortable.

Active until her last few days, she also enjoyed gardening, (line) dancing, gambling and butterflies. Bessie will be remembered with love and a smile by her large extended family and community.

“We should be very proud of each and every one of us for the values that were instilled by our parents. Isn’t it nice to have so much fun and be so close to one another. There aren’t many families like ours… I AM GLAD TO BE A KOSHIO!!!” ~Bessie Setsu Boone, Omoide: Memories & Recollections of Life in the Koshio Family, July 2011

Bessie is survived by her son Troy Palmer and his wife Michelle Palmer; her granddaughter Dr. Marissa Palmer and her husband Michael Mark; her “adopted daughter” and niece, Carisa (Hiyama) Hull; and numerous nieces, nephews, and great- and great-great-nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband Tom, parents and siblings, and some of her nieces.

1. Services:
2. Celebration of Life
3. Friday, April 10, 2026, at 1:00 pm
4. Newcomer’s East Metro Chapel
5. 190 Potomac St.
6. Aurora, CO 80011

1. Interment, conducted by Rev. Diana Thompson of Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple
2. Friday, July 17, 2026, at 11:00 am
3. Hillside Cemetery
4. 13750 Weld County Road 12
5. Fort Lupton, CO 80621

In lieu of flowers, please consider continuing Bessie’s legacy by making a donation in her name to:

• Japanese American Community Graduation Program (JACGP): https://jacgp.com/donate/
• Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple (TSDBT): https://tsdbt.org/ways-to-support
• Any organization whose mission brings you joy!

“Thus, we have not heard of human life lasting for ten thousand years. Life swiftly passes, and who among us can maintain their form for even a hundred years?” 

~Rennyo Shonin, from “On White Ashes”