Kiyoshi Nakayu's Obituary
Kiyoshi Nakayu passed away peacefully on the evening of June 12, 2020, at Apple Village Assisted Living in Layton, Utah. Though it was during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and visitors in general were not allowed, he had been under hospice care and was able to have visits from close family members in his final days. Still, he waited until he was alone in their room with his Honey, his dear wife Fusa of nearly 70 years, so he could let her know it was time to lay down his body and leave her with a calm assurance that, though she couldn’t go with him for now, they would be together in heaven someday.
Kiyo was born the eighth of nine children to immigrant parents Yaroku and Yuki (Murakami) Nakayu in Venice, California, on February 18, 1928. His birth certificate lists the date as February 17 but his mother was sure that was a mistake. At the age of 14 he and his family were ordered to leave their home and were transported to Manzanar, one of ten internment camps in the US for Japanese Americans during World War II.
He married Fusako Okumura in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 8, 1950, just prior to being drafted into the US Army during the Korean War. He served for a time in the occupation forces in Germany. After the war he worked at the Veteran’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. The bulk of his career was spent in civil service at Hill AFB, capped off by a two-year TDY that turned into 7½ years at Kadena AFB in Okinawa.
Kiyo enjoyed golfing, which he did mostly with friends, and bowling, which he did mostly with Fusa and other family members, and also liked watching both sports on TV. He enjoyed gardening, a skill he learned working with his older brother Hideo, and often employed his handyman skills in the service of friends and extended family. Fresh sashimi or raw tuna was clearly a favorite food because he got to eat it almost every day they lived in Okinawa. He liked to read and solve Sudoku puzzles. He attended many Oakland A’s baseball games with his oldest son Roger and was particularly fond of his granddaughters.
At the time of his death Kiyo was survived by his wife and their four children, Roger, Karen (James) Gates, Alan (Carol Madsen), and Paul (Mary Lloyd); former daughter-in-law Lori Grover; favorite niece Nancy Haru (Edris) Aubry; sister Yutaka Nakayu; grandchildren David Gates, Amy Gates, Adam (Shalyse Day) Nakayu, Emily (JC) Cotton, Eliza Nakayu, Peter (Rebecca Tribe) Gates, Kenji (Jessica Gadbois) Nakayu, Robert (Taleechia Riley) Gates, Hiro Nakayu, Seiko (Nathan) Lefthand, Esther Nakayu, and Jacob Nakayu; great-grandchildren Nathanael Cotton, Sumiye Nakayu, Ichiro Nakayu, and Rosie Gates; sisters-in-law Nobuko Nakayu and Dorothy Nakayu; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters Hatsuye Takaki, Yoshiko Ogawa, Mitsuye Nakayu, and Kiyoko Marion; brothers Tadao, Hideo, and Kazuo Nakayu; and another favorite niece Christina (Howie) Herman.
A memorial service will be planned and announced when social distancing is no longer necessary and Fusa can get hugs from all her loved ones.
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