Obituaries

To submit an obituary for publication, download the ENGLISH obituary order form , or the JAPANESE obituary order form . Or call our Advertising Department at (415) 921-6820.

View Obituary Archive

Current Obituaries - for the month of May 2008

Current month's obituaries are listed in chronological order in which they were received.

ABE, TOSHIKO ALICE, 85, passed away on May 4, 2008 in Sacramento, California. She was born on October 16, 1922 in Courtland, California. Toshiko is survived by her two step-sons Gordon (Sally) Abe and David (Alice) Abe, grand-daughters Angel, Melissa and Victoria, two brothers, George Masao (Sachi) Hiromoto and Harold (Maizie) Hiromoto, two sisters, Rose Watanabe and Susan (George) Goto and many nieces and nephews and their families. She loved sewing and had a very successful career in the swimsuit industry. In 1975, she moved to Hayward, CA to marry Toshiaki Abe and help raise his two teenage sons. They were married almost 25 years until his death in 2000. She made numerous wedding dresses and gowns for her family and was always in high demand until her health slowed her. She loved the farm life, traveling, and was very active with the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church in Union City, CA. A memorial service will be held for her on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at the Sacramento Buddhist Church, 2401 Riverside Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95818.Alice Abe

Posted May 8, 2008. Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly May 8-14, 2008.

HEDANI, DR. TOKUJI, 91, passed away on April 24, 2008 at California Pacific Medical Center. He was born on December 1, 1916 in San Francisco, California. Tokuji is survived by his son Dean (Melainie) Hedani, daughter Janet (Steven) Yip, and daughter Barbara (Le Roy) Morishita, and all grandchildren and relatives. He was a member of the Golden Gate Optimist Club, Boy Scout Troop 29 Parents Association, JACL SF Chapter, Buddhist Church of San Francisco, and the SF Hiroshima Nikkei Jin Kai. A memorial will be held for him on Saturday, May 10 at noon at the Buddhist Church of San Francisco, 1881 Pine St., San Francisco, CA 94109.Dr. Tokuji Hedani

Posted May 8, 2008. Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly May 8-14, 2008.

OKUNO, JOE, 85, passed away on May 3, 2008. Joe is survived by his wife Nuiko Okuno, son Bruce Okuno, daughter Lillian (Peter) Terada, grandchildren Eric and Emily, sister Fujiko (Jack) Shinkawa, brother Frank (Betty) Okuno, and Albert (Kazuko) Okuno. Joe was preceded in death by brothers Sataro, Masaichi, and Kinichi Okuno, and sisters Miharu Masuda and Mitsuko Seiki. He was a member of the Mountain View Buddhist Temple, the Chrysanthemum Grower’s Association, and the Tri-City Association. A funeral service will be held on Friday, May 9th at 2p.m. at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple, 575 N. Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94022.Joe Okuno

Posted May 8, 2008. Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly May 8-14, 2008.

SUGIMOTO, ROBERT T., 88, passed away peacefully Sunday, April 27, 2008 in Walnut Creek. A native of Watsonville, and long-time resident of Berkeley. Survived by his son, Stanley Sugimoto and his wife, Beverly, of Pacific Palisades; daughters, Laura Fast and her husband, Terry, and Diane Soper, all of Walnut Creek; sisters, Mieko Sugimoto of Yamaguchi-ken, Japan, and Carrie Kiyo Machida of San Jose; and grandchildren, Andrew, Scott, Spencer, Jennifer, Christopher, Daniel, Trevor, and Tess. Preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Keiko Matsubara Sugimoto, in 2004. During World War II, Mr. Sugimoto served in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service (MIS). After the War, he owned and operated Bob’s TV in Berkeley for 50 years; long-time member, Berkeley Methodist United Church. Friends and acquaintances are cordially invited to attend memorial services Saturday, May 17 at 11:00 a.m. at Berkeley Methodist United Church, 1710 Carleton Street, Berkeley. Private graveside services have already been held, Sunset View Cemetery, El Cerrito. Memorial donations, if desired, may be made to National Japanese American Historical Society, Military Intelligence Service (MIS/640 Project), 1684 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115, Tel. 415 921-5007. Sunset View Mortuary Tel. 510 525-5111Robert Sugimoto

Posted May 8, 2008. Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly May 8-14, 2008.

OHTAKI, PAUL T., businessman and journalist, passed away on April 27, 2008. He was 83 years old. He grew up near Seattle on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and at age 17 was relocated along with his family and other Japanese-Americans to the Manzanar internment camp in east-central California during World War II. The local newspaper publisher, Walt Woodward, asked him to write a weekly column about the daily lives of Bainbridge Island Japanese Americans in the camp. In his editorials in the Bainbridge Review, Woodward argued for the civil rights of these Japanese Americans, reinforced by the non-threatening, routine dispatches written by Ohtaki. Woodward wrote to Ohtaki, “You’ll be welcomed back by the vast majority of us, but those who don’t or won’t understand…may actually try to stir up trouble. But they’ll have a hell of a hard time of it if, in the meantime you’ve been creating the impression every week and every year that the Japanese are down there for just a short while…” As the Bainbridge Review noted in a 2004 article, this relationship between Woodward and Ohtaki became “A friendship that made island history.” As a tribute to Woodward, Ohtaki compiled the stories and letters in an anthology titled, It Was the Right Thing to Do! in 2001. Ohtaki enlisted in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and served in the Pacific Theater during the later part of World War II. He graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he met his wife, Katherine (“Kitty”). They moved to San Francisco where Ohtaki started a successful printing business, Diversified Business Forms. Paul and Kitty were married in 1960. Ohtaki was active in the Optimist Club, Veterans of Foreign Wars, JACL, and various Bainbridge Island historical efforts. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 18, at 2 p.m. at the Ashley & McMullen Mortuary, 4200 Geary Boulevard, in San Francisco. Ohtaki is survived by his wife, Kitty, his brother-in-law, Mas Ishikawa, his sister-in-law, Rose Ohtaki, and their families. In lieu of flowers or koden, donations in his memory may be made to the Bainbridge Island Nikkei Memorial, PO Box 10355, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.Paul Ohtaki

Posted May 8, 2008. Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly May 8-14, 2008.

KANEMOTO, MASARU “TOM,” 90, passed away on April 12, 2008 after a heroic fight with lung cancer. He was born on November 5, 1917 in Berryessa, San Jose, California. Tom’s most beloved wife, Toy, preceded him in 2006. Tom is survived by his son Larry Kanemoto of Elk Grove, CA, daughter Cathi (Christopher) Gates of Kona, HI, son Michael (Diane) Kanemoto of Sacramento, CA, and grandchildren Lisa, Nicole, Tom (Tiffanie), John, Noel Devin and Alissa, and great-grandchildren Desiree and Adam. Son of departed parents, Otozo Murashiger and Kikuyo Kanemoto, he will be deeply missed by his sisters, Miye Nosaka, Yoshiko Ikegami, brother-in-law Daniel Kawahara, brother-in-law Shigenobu (Beatrice) Kato, sister-in-law Yukiko (Yoshio) Ebisu, and many nieces, nephews, and their families. Tom was the son of a sharecropper and raised in the Berryessa area of San Jose. When War World II broke out, his family was one of many relocated to internment camps. It was at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming that he met and fell in love with Toy. She was to the end the “greatest thing that ever happened to him and was the LOVE of his life.” They married and were fortunate to have 62 wonderful years together until her passing. He carried his love for her until his last moment. After the war, Tom and Toy relocated to several places ultimately settling in Sacramento. Tom was a gardener and worked into his 80’s. Tom was honored to be a member of the Bocho Doshi Kai, the Sacramento Gardeners Association, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and the Japanese American National Museum. He was a hard worker who loved any kind of sport in his leisure time, from shooting hoops with his sons to watching events on TV and discovering golf. Gambling became an activity he enjoyed and Thunder Valley was the spot he loved best. Family was always first and foremost in his life though. His great love, loyalty, and support of family are what will be remembered and held dear by all. A private Memorial Service was held and the family requests that remembrances be forwarded to the American Cancer Society or Alzheimer’s Association.Masaru Kanemoto

Posted May 1, 2008. Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly May 1-8, 2008.