In honor of Día De Los Muertos, the Department of World Languages and Cultures created an ofrenda for Dr. Naoko Takemaru, which was held in the BEH atrium on October 28th, 2024. An ofrenda is a traditional Mexican altar for remembrance.

The Department of World Languages and Cultures celebrated Dr. Takemaru's beautiful soul by placing many objects that held precious memories of her love of cats, plants, Rafael Nadal (famous Spanish tennis player), Hello Kitty, embroidering, and the smell of lemons. These are just some of the items that were placed on the ofrenda to represent Dr. Takemaru's beautiful, kind soul, and her caring, unique and loving spirit. Her ofrenda was adorned with pictures of her beautiful smile that reached her eyes and gifts from many friends who loved her. Thank you to those who participated and took time to show their respects. The Departments of Accounting and Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology also participated by creating ofrendas to honor Dr. Patricia Navarro and Dr. Jerry Cha-Jan Chang. Dr. Navarro was an avid baker and copies of her handwritten recipes were available to grab from the table. Dr. Chang's table was strewn with lovely flowers.

WLC honors Dr. Naoko Takemaru, Dr. Jerry Cha-Jan Chang and Dr. Patricia Navarro Velez on this day of remembrance. We are honored to have been able to celebrate the lives of our three beloved members of our UNLV family. We will forever honor, love and miss the ones we have lost.