YOSHIFUJI, KAORU, 97, passed away peacefully at Kokoro Assisted Living on May 5, 2011. He is survived by his children Rosie (Gerry) McCormick, Karen (Tom) Boyden and Richard Yoshifuji; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren; sisters Hideko Kawahara of Fukuoka Ken Japan, Mineko Takata, Yaeko Tondo, brother-in-law Anthony and sister Noriko Matsuda and many nieces and nephews.
Kaoru was born in Salinas to Yutaka and Chiye Yoshifuji and was the oldest son of nine children. He was sent to Japan during his primary and middle school years to be educated in Hiroshima and returned back to the U.S. to work on the family farm in Pescadero.
He was incarcerated at the Tanforan detention center and the Topaz concentration camp and then resettled with the rest of the Yoshifuji family in San Mateo where he lived until age 90.
He was a devoted member of the San Mateo Buddhist Church and honorary board member of the San Mateo Nippon Gakuyen as well as the Japanese Gardener’s Association.
He will be missed by his many friends and family, and at his wish, a memorial service will be held at the JCCCNC, 1840 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA on Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 2pm. In lieu of koden or flowers, please consider a donation to the Humane Society, Kokoro or the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.
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