OAK RIDGE, Tenn — Oak Ridge peace advocate Shigeko Uppuluri died on June 8. She was 92 years old.
Shigeko spearheaded the creation of the Oak Ridge Friendship Bell located in Bissell Park.
Born in Kyoto, Japan in 1931, Shigeko eventually moved to the United States in 1958 and met her husband, Dr. Ram Uppuluri. The two moved to Oak Ridge a few years later, where she lived for close to 60 years.
Oak Ridge was established during World War II as a secret city by the U.S. government. The work of scientists in the city laid the groundwork for the atomic bombs that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Uppuluri worked to heal the relationship between Japan and Oak Ridge.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park said the Uppuluris were inspired after a trip to a Buddhist temple in Japan to bring a bonshō bell, which are situated in Buddhist temples across Japan, to Oak Ridge. In the early 1990s, Shigeko joined Ethel McDonald on the newly formed committee to propose the creation of the International Friendship Bell to honor the city's 50th anniversary.
"We talked about it, should we have some kind of monument or something that reminds us of what we did," Shigeko Uppuluri said in an interview with WBIR in 2021.
The Uppuluris brought in a renowned Japanese bellmaker from Kyoto, Sotetsu Iwasawa, to create the bell. Numerous donors helped pay for the bell and the structure surrounding it.
"Shigeko was just a jewel for helping us to have those relationships with the Japanese," said Ray Smith, the Oak Ridge historian. "She fit into the idea of transitioning from a city of war."
Uppuluri also helped Oak Ridge create a sister city program with Naka, Japan. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the two cities regularly exchanged students.
"We couldn't have done that without her," said Smith.
Shigeko's family said died peacefully in Oak Ridge. Community members planned a "comfort circle" at the Friendship Bell in Bissell Park on June 15, a week after her death, for "quiet contemplation" and for people to share their memories of Shigeko.