Real estate agent Eriko Hattori was the heart and soul of an unconventional extended family | Canada Voices

Eriko Hattori: Sister. Mother. Grandmother. Real estate broker. Born Dec. 22, 1964, in Yokkaichi, Japan; died Aug. 15, 2025, in Toronto, of ovarian cancer, aged 60.

From the time she was a teenager, Eriko Hattori yearned to explore the diversity of world culture beyond Japan. She dreamed of faraway places, pored over travel magazines and listened to BBC Radio every morning to learn English.

Eriko’s traditional Japanese family didn’t share her interest in the outside world. Her father had barely tolerated Eriko’s visit to Toronto on a student visit two years earlier. When she told him that she wanted to move to Toronto permanently, he responded by saying that she would no longer be welcome in the family home.

Although heartbroken, Eriko decided that being true to herself was more important. She was 28 when she flew to Toronto in 1992, armed with a BA in Japanese literature and a work visa. She quickly landed a job in as the office manager for a global freight company.

After joining the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre, Eriko discovered that many Japanese newcomers were struggling to find a new home. Realizing this was a niche market with unmet needs, she decided to make a strategic career pivot, and in 2004, jumped into the highly competitive Toronto real estate market.

Eriko’s first-hand knowledge of her Japanese clients’ needs, expectations and values allowed her to create a concierge-like real estate service that went far beyond finding the right house in the right neighbourhood. She provided one-on-one support that demystified everything from the Canadian legal system and citizenship requirements to district school maps and bus routes. For clients who didn’t speak English, Eriko acted as translator, often filling out forms and applications. The approach paved the way for client referrals, and within a decade, Eriko was posting record sales as a top real estate broker and recipient of prestigious achievement awards year after year.

Eriko met David, the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with, shortly after joining the downtown YMCA. David moved to Toronto from Barbados in 1987 and worked at the Y. The pair clicked immediately. They moved in together, renovated a home in the east end and then announced they were having a baby.

In 1995, I met Eriko through David, who is also my ex-husband. Eriko’s kindness toward our then five-year-old daughter, Vanessa, improved all of our lives. On Vanessa’s weekends with Daddy, Eriko organized fun activities and outings, taught Vanessa how to roll sushi and even sacrificed a pair of her size 4 high heels so Vanessa could be a Spice Girl. Five years later, when Eriko and David welcomed their own daughter into the world, Vanessa named her little sister Maya.

Eriko made sure that we all got together to celebrate milestones, achievements, birthdays and holidays as a family. The first Japanese word she taught Maya was “sister.” Eriko inspired me and we became close friends.

In the fall of 2021, Eriko was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. Eriko’s younger sister and only sibling, Mikako, had also inherited the gene, and was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer at a much earlier stage.

In the fall of 2023, while the disease was in remission, Eriko decided to visit Japan. It was the first trip since her mother’s funeral, 13 years before. I asked if she was going to see Mikako. Eriko just shrugged, and glared at me when I asked why. Startled, I changed the subject, but remembered that the sisters’ relationship had yet to be repaired.

Later, I noticed that Eriko, David and Maya’s photos from the trip included Mikako. The following summer, Mikako and her family flew to Toronto to visit Eriko, David and Maya and meet Vanessa, her husband, Bobby, and daughter, Zoe, and me. Eriko was translating as fast as she could with everyone talking and laughing at the same time, trying to make themselves understood. I had never seen Eriko so animated and happy and realized then how homesick she must have been for so many years.

Eriko was the heart and soul of our unconventional extended family for more than three decades, and she was loved and respected by friends and colleagues alike. At her crowded celebration of life, many wept openly. Of all the lessons that she taught us – about kindness, courage and the importance of staying positive – none was more powerful than the last. Eriko stared death in the face, showing no sign of fear or regret. Her grace and composure never faltered and she remained true to herself to the end.

Kristin Jenkins is Eriko Hattori’s friend.

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Lives Lived celebrates the everyday, extraordinary, unheralded lives of Canadians who have recently passed. To learn how to share the story of a family member or friend, go to tgam.ca/livesguide.