April 15, 1921 – July 10, 2021
Walter Goro Morimoto was born in Isleton, California, the tenth of 13 children. He passed away peacefully at home, July 10, 2021, at the age of 100 years old – the last of his brothers and sisters.
Walter graduated from Livingston High School and Modesto Junior College. As a second-generation Japanese-American, Walter and his family were incarcerated during WWII at the Merced Assembly Center and then at the Granada (Amache) Relocation Center in Colorado. Walter left Colorado to go to Omaha, Nebraska where he helped design ice breakers which were tested on the Missouri River.
Following the war, Walter operated and maintained heavy equipment to level and deep rip land for development. He appreciated machinery large and small, from managing huge Cat D10s to watching the small rigs used in Battle Bots. Walter enjoyed watching the San Francisco Giants, reading, watching movies and tending his orchids. And he would never turn down a trip to a buffet or an ice cream parlor.
Over the years, Walter served as state and national president of the Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) and president of the Livingston-Merced chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). In later years, Walter and Mitsuko enjoyed traveling to Japan, Europe and various locales across the United States. They also took cruises to Mexico, Alaska, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Hawaii and the California Coast.
Walter is survived by Mitsuko (Yamamoto), his wife of 69 years; four children, Jeanne Morimoto, Warren Morimoto (Susan Turner), Kathryn Morimoto (Victor Fujii), and Gordon Morimoto (Debra Morimoto); four granddaughters, Sara Morimoto (Grant Anderson), Laurel Fujii (Omar Lopez), Amy Morimoto and Julie Morimoto; and many nieces and nephews.
Leave a Condolence