WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Kija Kim Bolton, of Williamstown, MA, died of cancer on March 9, 2019, at the age of 52.

She was born on July 4, 1966, in Osaka, Japan, to Korean Japanese parents Kenji and Takako Matsui. She attended Tennoji High School and graduated from Osaka's Kansai Foreign Language University in 1989. In 1991, she came to the United States to attend graduate school, receiving a Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from San Francisco State University in 1994.

She married Christopher Bolton in 1996. Kija worked as a special education teacher in Riverside, California, and North Adams, most recently at Brayton Elementary School. She was known for her kind, cheerful manner, her sense of humor, her deep love of teaching, and her indomitable energy and spirit.

She is survived by her parents; her brother Toshinori Matsui; her sister Yoko Miyata; her husband Christopher; her two daughters Mariko and Erika; her father and mother in law, Roger and Julia Bolton; and nieces and nephews.

Funeral notice: Calling hours for Kija Bolton will be Friday, March 15, 2019, from 4-7 PM at FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS WEST CHAPELS, 521 West Main St. North Adams, MA. Services will be Saturday March 16, 2019, at 11:00 AM at St. John's Episcopal Church, Williamstown.

Burial will be in the spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Brayton Elementary School in care of the funeral home. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.