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Delores "Dee" Goto moved to Seattle's Central District in 1960 to attend the University of Washington. After graduating with a degree in public nursing in 1961, Goto returned to UW for a masters degree in psychosocial nursing, which she earned in 1987. Goto was a resident of Seattle's Central District for many years; at the same point in time, the majority of Seattle's Japanese-American community also lived in this district.

Goto began conducting interviews with first-generation Japanese-Americans about their lived experiences in Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest before, during, and after World War II due to her belief in the importance of recording these community members' histories in their own words. She has collaborated with UW and with the Japanese Historical Society in her documentation of the Japanese-American experience in the Pacific Northwest. In accordance with her belief in the value of documenting her community's history, Goto also helped to establish the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington.

Goto is one of the editors of the "Omoide" series, which are collections of these interviews with the Japanese-American community.