Acting Co-Presidents Tomoko Sakomura and Rob Goldberg shared the following message with the campus community on July 25, 2024:

Dear Friends,
 
With deep sadness, we write to share the news that Senior Lecturer in Japanese Yoshiko Jo died at her home in Japan on Saturday, July 20, after a brief illness. She was 59.

Yoshiko served on Swarthmore’s Modern Languages & Literatures faculty for 22 years. She is remembered for the passion for Japanese language and culture she instilled in her students, as well as for her love of running, with her success as an ultramarathoner serving as a model for working hard while also leading with enthusiasm and joy.

Yoshiko is survived by her mother, Kuniko Jo, and sister, Hiroko Jo. They welcome donations in Yoshiko’s honor to Medals4Mettle and to the Scott Arboretum for a dedicated tree.

A funeral was held in Kobe, Japan, on Monday, July 22. Plans for a campus memorial and tree dedication will be shared when they are available.

We invite you to read more below about Yoshiko and her many contributions to our community. 
  
Sincerely,

Tomoko Sakomura
Acting Co-President
Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Art History

Rob Goldberg
Acting Co-President
Vice President for Finance and Administration

In Honor of Senior Lecturer in Japanese Yoshiko Jo

Senior Lecturer in Japanese Yoshiko Jo died Saturday, July 20. She was 59. With her passing, the Swarthmore community has lost a beloved educator who exuded warmth and contagious energy in the classroom, around campus, and beyond. 

“Yoshiko has been at the heart of the College’s Japanese Program as it has grown and flourished over the years,” says Professor of Japanese Will Gardner. “She was a vital collaborator for all of us, and an outstanding teacher who gave each student individual attention and care.” 

“Yoshiko was an important element in establishing and enhancing the program,” says Senior Lecturer in Japanese Atsuko Suda, a friend and colleague for more than 20 years. “She was a person of ideas who brought lots of friends and connections to support our students.” 

“In the Japanese classroom, her upbeat and can-do spirit encouraged even the most reluctant language learner,” says Modern Languages & Literatures Chair Sunka Simon. “Our department is deeply saddened by her loss and will remember her with gratitude."

Born and raised in Kobe, Japan, Jo earned a B.A. in education from Seiwa College in Nishinomiya before coming to the U.S. to continue her studies. She earned a B.A. in art from North Central College in Illinois and an M.Ed. in art education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Jo taught all levels of Japanese language to students at institutions and organizations around the U.S., including for two years at the University of Iowa and for seven at Princeton University. She also taught graduate students for 13 consecutive summers at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies, administered by Stanford University in Yokohama, Japan. 

Jo joined Swarthmore’s Modern Languages & Literatures faculty in 2002, attracted by the prospect of helping to launch the College’s new Japanese Program. At Swarthmore, she taught intermediate and advanced language courses, as well as courses that focused on aspects of Japanese culture. 

“Yoshiko always showed a deep concern both for students’ growth in their Japanese language use and their emotional and social well-being,” says Assistant Professor of Japanese John Bundschuh. “She was not only instructive and kind to students, but to colleagues as well. Her enthusiasm invigorated the classroom.”

Jo often incorporated Japanese manga, nonfiction, and waka poetry into her classes — anything to encourage students’ ability to read a broad variety of texts with minimal use of dictionaries. 

“Yoshiko loved literature, and she really enjoyed reading and discussing Japanese novels with her fourth-year Japanese students,” Gardner says. “We were all proud that students could get to the point where they were able to read adult fiction in Japanese before graduating, and they really seemed to enjoy discussing them with Jo sensei.”

Jo was instrumental in establishing and maintaining a Japanese tutoring program and chat hour with the help of students who were native Japanese speakers, and served as an informal mentor for them. She supported students who in 2009 started Kizuna, a Japanese club that is still active. Jo also frequently presented at conferences around the country and Europe on her teaching techniques.

“I personally enjoyed team-teaching classes with her and discussing our students and teaching ideas,” Gardner says. “She also had many great ideas for events and activities, and always strived to make our co-curricular activities as meaningful as possible for students.”

“As a teacher, Yoshiko brought charm and funny jokes to language class,” Suda says. “She was a student favorite.”

Jo reciprocated the appreciation. Once asked for her favorite language classroom activity, she said, “Anything which allows me to get to know a student’s personality further.” She added: “I admire hard-working people.” 

“Yoshiko never stopped thinking about her students and their well-being,” says Associate Professor of Chemistry Kathryn Riley ’10. “When we had overlapping students in our courses, she would always ask how they were doing in my class, did they seem upbeat that week, and were they connecting with their peers.”

Although Jo ran cross-country while in college in Illinois as a way to make friends, she didn’t start training for marathons in earnest until she volunteered to escort a blind Japanese runner at the 2003 New York City Marathon. Because the runner and his other escort did not speak English, Jo also translated for both of them during the race.

“We [as escorts] look for obstacles that people have discarded, like water bottles, and I tell him about the sky, the people,” she said when describing how she guided the runner during the race. “He runs much faster than me, so I have to train for him. People think I'm helping him, but he's really helping me.”

“That kind of generosity was typical of Yoshiko, as was the talent she discovered when she became an elite runner herself,” says Susan W. Lippincott Professor of Modern and Classical Languages Sibelan Forrester. “This is a terrible loss for the department and for Swarthmore.”

Jo’s generosity, much like her boundless energy, seemingly knew no limits. At the 2013 Boston Marathon, she was a block past the finish line when she heard and saw the bomb blast. Jo later gave her medal to a runner — a brain cancer survivor from New York — who had been prevented from completing the race. Jo also served for many years as the coordinator of the Japan chapter of Medals4Mettle to award donated endurance medals (including her own) as symbols of courage to children facing debilitating diseases. In addition, she was a longtime volunteer with Achilles International and its Philadelphia chapter, which supports people with disabilities to participate in athletic events.

“Yoshiko was an unbelievably caring, compassionate, generous, and loyal friend and colleague,” says Associate Professor of Dance Joe Small ’05. “Where she especially shined was her ability to create in others a profound sense of joy and zest for life and learning.”

Jo ultimately ran in well over 100 marathons, in every U.S. state and around the world. She counted among her many highlights completing the infamous Badwater 135 Ultramarathon through California’s Death Valley in July twice: in 2015, and among the top 10 women in 2016. She finished 18 consecutive Boston Marathons and 20 New York City Marathons; ran 530 miles over 10 days on a one-mile loop at a race in New Jersey; and set a 100-mile personal record of 18 and a half hours. In 2019, she ranked among the top 25 runners nationally in the American 100-mile race records; among the top 25 that year, she was the oldest female participant.

“Running is an essential life element just like breathing, eating, and sleeping for me,” Jo told Runners World in 2019. 

“​​I was in awe not only of her incredible athletic abilities, but also of her humility,” says friend and Senior Lecturer in Chemistry Maria Gallagher. “She found joy in everything, and she made the world a better place.” 

Last August, Jo expressed her excitement about resuming her Japanese and Chinese calligraphy course, since it had been last offered before the pandemic. She had planned to co-teach the class with a student who also happened to be an accomplished calligrapher and ultramarathon runner, finding their shared passions “fascinating and unusual.” Instead, Jo went on medical leave soon after the Fall 2023 semester began.

“I rarely ever saw Yoshiko without a radiant smile,” says Professor Emerita of History Allison Dorsey, a longtime friend. “She always led from a place of joy.”

“Yoshiko knew what it meant to be truly present in the moment,” says Riley, who regularly joined her to work out. “I feel so fortunate to have known her. She uplifted everyone around her with her warm, energetic, and generous spirit.”

Jo drew inspiration from nature and frequently posted photos from her morning runs on social media. 

“We must have seen the same sunrise 100 times,” Riley adds, “but to her, each was more beautiful than the next and deserved to be documented.”

“When I see the power of nature at dawn,” Jo said, “my soul is filled with bliss.”