Yoshio MATSUMOTO

1921 - 2021

On June 3, 2021, Yoshio Matsumoto passed away after a remarkable life at the age of 99. Yoshio was born to Ryoichi Matsumoto and Yoshi Yabuki Matsumoto on July 12, 1921 in San Diego, California. He left San Diego to attend the University of California Berkeley. It was there that he first met his wife, Alice Abe. In 1942, he was evacuated to internment camps along with other Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. With the assistance of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council, Yoshio was able to leave the internment camp to continue his education at Washington University in Saint Louis where he graduated with a degree in engineering in 1944. Soon after his graduation, he was inducted into the US Army. Before being sent to Germany, he and Alice were married on September 14, 1945. Upon his discharge from the army in 1946, he joined Alice in Detroit where his family had relocated after being released from the internment camps. There, he and Alice welcomed their three sons, Steven, David and Joseph. In 1961, they relocated to Saint Paul, MN when Yoshio was offered a job with 3M Company. He worked there for over 20 years before retiring in 1987. Yoshio and Alice were active in their church community at the United Church of Christ; in the Japanese American community and were patrons of the Twin Cities arts. Alice died on January 11, 1997. In the later decades of his life, Yoshio was devoted to his family and friends. His family mourns the loss of their beloved patriarch, Yoshio, which means 'Righteous Man'. He embodied this quality throughout his life in his devotion to Alice and his family, his commitment to justice and his involvement in his community. His family will remember his quiet and dignified presence, his unflappable nature, his sharp mind, his discerning taste and his generous hospitality. Yoshio is survived by his sons, Steven, David (Diane) and Joseph (Jane); his grandchildren David, Molly (Joseph Spagnola), Martha and Andrew (Casey Colodny), as well as many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife Alice Abe, his daughter-in-law Susan, his grandson Peter, his sisters Tamiko and Michiko, his brother Kazuo and his parents. A memorial service for his immediate family will be held this week at United Church of Christ in Saint Paul. There will be a memorial service later this year at the time of his interment at the Japanese Cemetery in Colma, California. Memorials preferred to the Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund (19 Scenic Drive, Portland, Connecticut 06480 or www.nsrcfund.org