Luther Okamoto

Luther Okamoto of Hawthorne, CA passed away on December 20, 2013 at the age of 87. He was born on July 9, 1926 in Costa Mesa, CA to Japanese immigrant parents, Junichi and Mene (Koichi) Okamoto. He was the youngest of six children. Living siblings include George Okamoto of Monterey Park, CA and Sue Saiki of Mankato, MN and he is preceded in death by brother, Carl Okamoto of Sanger, CA and sisters, Kay Omata of Fresno, CA and Mary Matsumoto of Gardena, CA. Luther lived in Avila for a while, but his family moved from town to town farming mostly in the Fresno vicinity.
Around 1942, following the signing of an Executive Order, Luther and part of his family and other people of Japanese ancestry were transported to the Arizona desert for their war time living quarters at the Poston Internment Camp 3 for about two years. In 1946, Luther served in the United States Army for about two years and part of his duty was stationed in Germany. Afterwards, Luther attended school in Chicago where he learned to be a mechanic and a body and fender repairman with his good friend, Ken Togioka. He later met Yoshiko "Yo" Nagai and they were married in 1950. In 1952, their daughter , Doris, was born in Chicago, IL and the three of them moved to Lawndale, CA. In 1955, their son, Dale, was born in Gardena, CA and Luther soon bought a home in Hawthorne where he lived for the past 58 years. Luther worked as a mechanic but eventually became a body and fender man working at several automotive shops in the Los Angeles area. He retired in 1991 from Torrance Mazda after 9 1/2 years. He was always interested in figuring out how things worked, and there wasn't much that he couldn't fix. Besides working on cars, Luther enjoyed fishing, working in the yard, watching westerns, listening to classical music and most of all spending time with family and friends. Luther is survived by his wife, Yo; his daughter Doris (Tom) Jung, his son Dale (Gwen) Okamoto, his grandchildren Jeffrey and Lindsay Jung and Jamie and Jason Okamoto, and his numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws. He treasured every moment with his family and friends, and memories of
his kindness, sense of humor, teachings, wisdom and love will always be with them.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, December 28th in the Villeta Room from 10 AM to 12 PM at Green Hills Mortuary, 27501 S. Western Ave., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA


Funeral Home:
Green Hills Mortuary and Memorial Chapel
27501 S.Western Ave.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
US 90275