Jimmy Katsumi Kawato's Obituary
Jimmy Katsumi Kawato
March 12, 1944 - August 20, 2017
Jimmy Katsumi Kawato, 73, passed away peacefully at his home in Saratoga Springs, Utah on Sunday, August 20th. He was with his wife and a friend as he quietly slipped away. He fought a good fight but finally succumbed to his pancreatic cancer, which had spread to several organs.
Jimmy was born on March 12, 1944 in Minidoka, Idaho, in an internment camp,
.Jimmy graduated from Los Angeles College and then completed 2 years at UCLA in Los Angeles in bacteriology. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and relied on his faith to carry him through both good times and bad.
While attending UCLA, Jimmy was National Chairman of VIVA (Voices in Vital America), and was instrumental in launching the National “P.O.W. - M.I.A. Bracelet” Program during the Vietnam War. VIVA was a national non-profit, non-political student organization dedicated to the fact that progress and freedom can only be achieved and maintained by rational and responsible action. VIVA was honored and recognized by several prominent individuals including, at the time, California Governor Ronald Reagan. In that capacity, Jimmy presented H. Ross Perot with the “Patriot of the Year Award” in 1970 at the “Fourth Annual Salute to the Armed Forces” in Beverly Hills, California.
Jimmy held many different odd jobs while he was attending school, and he gained much experience while in those jobs. His most recent employment was as Sales Engineer, selling and designing air conditioning transducers for the Japanese automotive industry. In that capacity, he acted as engineering liason between the U.S. parts company and the Japanese automobile manufacturers. He was able to use his fluency in Japanese during that employment.
After employment by others, he invented two different products, inspired by his love of gardening as a hobby. The first was a fertilizer dispenser, which dispersed product through the homeowners’ sprinkler system during the watering process. The second was a watering system for the retail nursery market to automatically water a store’s plants utilizing an array of trays, along with sensors and a clock to control the water. Both products had limited success but Jimmy was very proud of those two accomplishments.
He was a proud member of the Patriot Guard Riders and considered it an honor to stand for fallen military and first responders at their funerals, alongside his PGR brethren. He was honored to use his car as protection by holding up the rear for the PGR motorcycle caravans at funerals, and for road blocking intersections for the PGR motorcycles as they made their way to, and during, Military and first responder funerals. He felt very comfortable in this role, despite scaring the wits out of his wife while he was driving during these caravans.
Jimmy also played an important role in the community of Saratoga Springs. He was the, impetus for, and brainchild of, the biennial Saratoga Springs Utah Fallen Heroes Family Day, which honors Gold Star and fallen first responder families. It is an event that gives military and first responder families who have made the ultimate sacrifice by losing a spouse, parent or child while in service of this country, an opportunity to be amongst their peers and to be recognized for their sacrifice. Jimmy also played a pivotal role in successfully fighting multifamily homes in a clearly single-family residential neighborhood. He successfully brought the case to the Utah Supreme Court and prevailed in that case, along with the hard work of others.
Jimmy leaves behind his wife, Cheryl (Firing), cousins Terry Takeda, Sharlene (Takeda) Miyagishima, Todd Takeda, Lisa (Nagato) Kennedy and Lincoln Nagato. He is preceded in death by his parents Kazo and Yuki , brothers Taro and Yukio and sister Taneko Tsuji.
He also leaves behind a beautifully landscaped garden that he lovingly created at his Saratoga Springs home. The church’s Priests have kept the garden weeded this summer while Jimmy has been ill, an immense contribution resulting in the H.O.A.’s granting Yard- of-the Month in July.
Many of us are grateful for having known Jimmy Katsumi Kawato. He will be missed.
A Celebration of Life memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 9, 2017 at 11:00 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 50 E Centennial Blvd, Saratoga Springs, UT 84045.
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