Obituary of George Morinaga

George was born in Auburn, Washington on March 12, 1935 to Setsu and Yonezu Morinaga. He was the 9th of 10 children. They were farmers. When WWII broke out the family was relocated to Heart Mountain Internment Camp and lost their farm. After the war the family came back to the Pacific NorthWest and eventually settled in Ontario (Oregon Slope) and started farming again. In 1953 George graduated from Ontario High school.

He was hired by APL (American President Lines - global shipping) in 1955 and started work in San Francisco. His life in San Francisco was filled with get-together with friends and family, they held various activities - fishing at Lake Merced, golfing, and any opportunities for celebrations. He was reassigned to New York in the 70’s for a few years and made some life long friends there too.

When he came back to the Bay Area he resumed his social activities. He was an avid bowler and had a very active bowling social circle. He had numerous “300” games earning him watches, rings, and trophies. He also enjoyed golfing and fishing.

In 1985 he retired from APL after 30 years and with his wife Kimiko, they moved to Ontario from Walnut Creek California and became farmers. Learning to farm had its rewards and challenges, and they both embraced it. After 20 years of farming, they wanted to spend more time with the grandkids so they started traveling more frequently to California until covid hit.

George was known to be exceedingly polite, very laid back and no-drama kind of person. He was also a big sports fan, favorite teams were the 49ers, SF Giants, Golden State Warriors and occasionally the Raiders and Oakland A’s. His devotion to his wife Kimiko during her last few year of life showed how kind and caring he was. He always had such generous disposition. We miss him very much.

George passed on the evening of Tuesday September 12 to be with his recently deceased wife Kimiko. He was preceded in death by his parents Setsu and Yonezu Morinaga, his late wife Kimiko, his brothers Kaz, Benny, and Frank, sisters Momo Kido, Marian Ota, Teruko, Lillian Kitamura and Vi Yagi.

He is survived by his daughter Julie Osborne (Pierre Osborne) of Dublin, California, grandkids Akiko and Marcel, and his brother Jim Morinaga of Ontario, Oregon, as well as numerous beloved nieces and nephews and Steven Chen of Keller, Texas.

A Celebration Of Life will be held on Saturday September 30th at 11:00am at Lienkaemper Chapel in Ontario. Lunch to follow at the 4 Rivers Cultural Center 12:00 - 3:00pm in Ontario, Oregon. Attire: Casual, come in your favorite golfing, bowling or fishing shirt, dad would love it.

A special thanks to St. Alphonsus in Ontario for the tremendous job they did while taking care of George.