Hiroko Vertuno

Hiroko Vertuno

January 21, 1937 - December 15, 2024

Hiroko Vertuno, of Bowie, Maryland, died on December 15, 2024, at age 87. She was born in Hiroshima, Japan on January 21,1937, to Hisashi and Shuku Horikawa and named after the city of her birth. During World War II, the family moved to the countryside, returning to the city some years after the war.

She majored in English and studied music and art appreciation in college. and after graduation, she worked briefly as an au pair for an American family and spent seven years working as a secretary on the American base in Iwakuni. There she met her future husband, Tony Vertuno, a Marine legal officer stationed there.

Hiroko came to the United States in 1966. She and Tony were married in Washington, DC. and began their life together in Arlington, Virginia. They moved to Bowie, Maryland in 1970, where they raised their son John. Along the way, she indulged her artistic nature by taking art classes at Prince Georges Community College and then at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, and her musical side by collecting records and videos of operas, operatic singers, and Elvis Presley.

Hiroko is survived by her husband of 58 years, Tony, her son John, her sister Noriko Oshima, of Kobe City, Japan and niece Miyuki and nephew Kotaro; brother-in-law Leonard (Doctor Lenny) Vertuno and nieces Maria, Elizabeth, Michelle, and Katie; sister-in-law Theresa Vertuno and nephews Tony and David; and sister-in-law Beville (Edward) Vertuno and nephews Eddie and Jim. Her ever-present and radiant smile will be greatly missed but fondly remembered by those who knew her.

Hiroko loved animals, and she had a very special bond with the family’s pet cat, Spencer. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her name to Alley Cat Allies (7920 Norfolk Ave, Suite 600, Bethesda, Maryland 20814) or Humane Rescue Alliance (71 Oglethorpe St NW, Washington, DC 20011).