Resolution on the death of Sachiko Tanaka Rodes.

RES 2026-124 FIRST IN COUNCIL September 14, 2026 City of Cambridge COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN WHEREAS: Sachiko Tanaka Rodes, known to her family and friends as “Sachi,” passed away on June 20, 2026 at the age of 53, following a seventeen-month battle with leiomyosarcoma; and WHEREAS: Sachi was born in Yonkers, New York, and raised primarily in Mission Viejo, California, where her lifelong love of music began with the violin at age seven and grew to include membership in the American Youth Symphony while still in high school; and WHEREAS: Sachi attended Stanford University, where she studied economics and music and played violin in the Stanford Symphony, later studying at Hitotsubashi University in Japan and building a career in classical music management in Tokyo, where she met her future husband, Thomas Owsley “Toby” Rodes; and WHEREAS: Sachi and Toby married in 2002 and moved to Cambridge in 2003, making the city their home for the next twenty-three years and raising their two children, Marshall and Emi, here; and WHEREAS: Drawing on her lifelong love of music, Sachi initially worked in development at the New England Conservatory in Boston before turning much of her attention to raising her family and becoming deeply involved in the Cambridge community; and WHEREAS: Sachi was a devoted and supportive mother who was a constant presence throughout her children’s years at Tobin Montessori School, Vassal Lane Upper School, and Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, encouraging their interests and accomplishments while giving them the independence to grow into their own people; and WHEREAS: A strong advocate for Cambridge’s public schools, Sachi contributed her time and talents to educational boards and advisory committees, including Friends of Tobin, and later brought her warmth, competence, and characteristic good humor to the front office at Shady Hill School, where she became known in part for arriving to work by scooter; and WHEREAS: Sachi believed deeply in service and gave generously of her time to causes involving education, the environment, and food insecurity throughout Greater Boston, and was a dedicated supporter of the Backpack Program, now part of Cambridge-based Food For Free, which helps ensure that Cambridge Public School students experiencing food insecurity have meals to take home for the weekend; and

WHEREAS: Friends and loved ones remember Sachi for her welcoming smile, infectious laugh, practical competence, generosity, and remarkable ability to bring others together, often recruiting those around her to join her in giving back to the community; and WHEREAS: Sachi once wrote that her hope was “to have a happy, fulfilling life and, at the same time, to leave the small part of the world that I touch a better place,” a hope she fulfilled through the family, friendships, communities, and causes to which she gave so much of herself; and WHEREAS: Sachi is survived by her husband, Toby; her son, Marshall; her daughter, Emi; her parents, Nobuyoshi and Kyoko Tanaka; her brother, Masayuki Tanaka, and his wife, Esther Odekirk; and her niece, Kaiya Tanaka; now therefore be it RESOLVED: That the Cambridge City Council extend its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sachiko “Sachi” Tanaka Rodes and honor her life of service, generosity, music, family, and community, and the lasting difference she made in Cambridge and throughout Greater Boston; and be it further RESOLVED: That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to the family of Sachiko Tanaka Rodes on behalf of the entire City Council. A true copy; ATTEST:- Paula M. Crane, Interim City Clerk

City of Cambridge Resolution on the death of Sachiko Tanaka Rodes.