Richard Doi

1929 - 2021

Richard Doi
September 20, 1929 - August 16, 2021
Fresno, California - Richard Tadao Doi was born in Fresno on September 20, 1929. He was the youngest of 7 children. During WWII his family was interned at the Fresno Assembly Center. They were relocated to the Jerome Relocation Center and eventually to the Tule Lake Segregation Center until the war ended. In 1948, he graduated from Edison High.
Richard joined the army after high school and was stationed in Korea during the Korean War. After his discharge he returned to Fresno and attended trade school to become a plumber, which was his profession for over 30 years. He was an avid bowler and once bowled a near perfect game of 290. He was active in the YBA where he met his future wife, Lily Nakamura. They were married on May 4, 1958 and recently celebrated their 63rd anniversary.
Richard was a member of the Plumber's Union and in 1977 became a partner of Valley Plumbing in Clovis. After retirement he remained active in the Fresno Buddhist Church, volunteered at the Nikkei Thrift Shop, and traveled with the Seniors' Club. Additionally, he enjoyed helping out numerous friends with their plumbing problems. Retirement also allowed him more time to watch his grandchildren participate in various extracurricular activities.
He is survived by his wife Lily; 3 children Dennis (Terry), Arlene Nishimura (Irwin), and Keith; 4 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents Manjiro and Uta; brothers Marcus, Ben, and Thomas Doi; sisters Yuki Nakahara, Chizu Campos, and Fujiye Doi.
Due to COVID a private service was held on August 21.