Mayumi Aoki Woods

Mayumi Aoki Woods, age 73 of Columbus Indiana, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. She is survived by her sons Howard Woods III and his wife Heather, of McCordsville, Indiana and Alex Woods of Columbus, Indiana; her sister Hiroko Izuta and her husband Katsume, of Nagoya, Japan; and her grandchildren Daniel, David, Ethan, Myka, and Korben. She was preceded in death by her parents, Hiroshi Aoki and Sueko (Matsuno) Aoki.

Mayumi was born in Sumoto on Awaji Island, Japan in 1948. She grew up in Sumoto and Kobe and made many life-long friends in her youth. After graduating high school, Mayumi studied art and fashion design in Tokyo. She also worked at the World Expo ‘70 in Osaka, which sparked an interest in travel. She joined a travel club and embarked on a grand adventure to see the world beginning in Thailand and then going from Nepal through south Asia and Europe to London. From there, she came to the United States, where she ended up settling down and starting a family.

Mayumi loved to paint and was active in the local art community, exhibiting her work and completing some commissions. She was an avid tennis player and fan, and loved swimming - especially in the ocean. Mayumi enjoyed sampling foods from all over the world, and she got a kick out of cooking Japanese foods for her kids’ friends to try to broaden their culinary experiences. Mayumi was a prolific reader and movie buff, and she had a life-long love of music ranging from Beethoven to Pink Floyd.

At Mayumi’s request, there will not be a service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a memorial donation to the IU Health Simon Cancer Center. For easy access to donate, please click the link below.

https://www.iuhealthfoundation.org/donate