Sachiko Endo Colom, 85, of Fairway, Kansas passed away at home on March 4, 2015.

Mrs. Colom was born on January 19, 1930 in Numazu, Japan, daughter of Sadakichi and Kinko Endo. She graduated from Tsuda Women's College and studied the art of Japanese floral arrangement (Ikebana) at the Ohara, Koryu, and Sogetsu schools of Ikebana. She achieved the level of Master Teacher from the Sogetsu School in 1966.

Mrs. Colom was preceded in death by her husband George A. Colom MD, her parents, one sister, one brother, one son in-law, and one grandchild. Survivors include her four children, seven grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

Mrs. Colom was very active in Kansas City's arts community. She founded the Sogetsu School of Ikebana (the Japanese art of floral arrangement) in 1968 and taught until this past January. She delighted in the discovery of beauty from a simple floral arrangement and the joy expressed by a student when discovering their own. A long time Patron of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Mrs. Colom was not only a donor but also honored to have served as a docent for 33 years. One of her great joys in life was teaching school children from the Kansas City School district about the objects of art in our great museum and the cultures that inspired them.

Her love of art transcended beyond fine and performing arts. She was a seasoned traveler having visited over 30 countries across the globe. During her travels, she delighted in the discovery of new tastes. Locally, she could often be seen refining her palate at Andre's, Whole Foods, Café Provence, Tatsu's, Michael Smith's, Extra Virgin, Café Sebastienne, Room 39, Kaiyo Sushi, Sama Zama, Hibachi Grill, Kabuki Sushi, Webster House, Winstead's, and Town Topic.

In addition to her teaching pursuits, she was an active member of the performing arts community in Kansas City attending performances of the Lyric Opera, Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet, Harriman-Jewell performing arts series, Kansas City Chamber Music Orchestra, the Missouri Rep, Shakespeare Festival, Owen-Cox Dance Group, Quixotic Fusion, and the Kansas City Dance Festival. Mrs. Colom was a charitable person supporting many of those organizations in addition to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Arbor Day Foundation, The Smithsonian Institution, The March of Dimes, and the Republican National Committee.

The family wishes to thank the physicians and staff at Westwood Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Kansas University Hospital, Interim Health, and Kansas City Hospice. You treated her with the same dignity with which she lived her life.

Memorial Contributions

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Nelson-Atkins Museum, KC Lyric Opera, or the Kansas City Symphony.

Memorial Service

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at The Amos Family Funeral Home located at 10901 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas 66203.