Albert Shigeki Komatsu

1926 - 2024

Albert Shigeki Komatsu

November 28, 1926 - October 30, 2024

Fort Worth, Texas - Albert S. Komatsu passed away on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, one month shy of his 98th birthday. From a humble family beginning, he remained modest, energetic, and optimistic throughout his life. His depression-era childhood, incarceration during WWII along with an estimated 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, and his experience as a U.S. Army veteran, shaped a gracious attitude in his professional architectural career and later life. Albert and his wife, Toy, founded the Komatsu firm in 1959, which continues in its 65th year today. His career was significantly nurtured by many Fort Worth civic and business leaders who recognized his talents and provided opportunities for design work and commissions.

Albert's favorites in his diverse portfolio were buildings to serve people, provide a unique design, and meet functional challenges, including his early career residences, notably the Shady Oaks Townhomes. He often cited St. Stephen Presbyterian Church and the Japanese Garden in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens as especially rewarding projects. Albert had a passion for educational facilities: buildings at the University of Texas at Arlington; TCU's Moncrief Hall; Tarrant County College Northeast Campus; Weatherford College Campus; and Austin College. His commitment to the U.S. Department of Defense and the defense industry included master plans for General Dynamics' F-16 Co-Production Facility and Bell Helicopter's American Community, both designed for Isfahan, Iran; and Commissaries and Base Exchanges at over 50 DOD installations worldwide, including the The Mall at Pearl Harbor, HI.

Albert's father, Hisakichi Komatsu, arrived in Portland, OR, in 1900. He immediately hired a tutor to teach him English and later married Kofusa Honda. Their children included Albert's sisters, Mary and Alice. During the Great Depression, Albert helped to support his family by working three paper routes while in elementary school. During WWII, Al's father, a railroad foreman, was exempted from internment as a person serving the U.S. national interest. Albert, his mother, and sisters were incarcerated at Camp Minidoka, ID. At 16, Albert was released to do agricultural labor until he was allowed to join his older sister, Mary, in Minnesota. He boarded at the local YMCA and enrolled in high school under the watchful care of two teachers. In 1944, he received a draft notice and instead chose to enlist in the Army. Because of his math skills, he was sent to 10 different Army installations to straighten out their accounting.

Under the GI Bill, Albert enrolled at the University of Minnesota's Architecture School where he met and married fellow student Toyoko "Toy" Tanaka from Hawaii. Their son, Karl, was born in Minnesota, after Albert was recalled to Korea by the Army. Albert was transferred to Camp Wolters in Mineral Wells and later moved to Fort Worth, where Sylvia was born. Albert described Texas as friendly and welcoming, and holding great promise for his career and family.

Survivors include his daughter, Sylvia, and her husband, George Stone; son, Karl, and his wife, Nancy; grandson Christopher Houston Komatsu; grandson Brice Albert Komatsu and his wife, Molly. Also surviving Albert is his younger sister, Alice, and her husband, Ed Kubo of Sacramento, CA; and many nieces and nephews in CA, Oregon, and Hawaii. Preceding him in death were his wife, Toy, and his older sister, Mary, and her husband, Hoichi "Bob" Kubo. Claire Curry brought great joy to Albert's life during the last 10 years. The Komatsu family expresses sincere appreciation to Albert's caregivers while he was at The Ridglea Senior Living Residence.

A private family service is planned, with a celebration of life at Saint Stephen Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth at 3 p.m. on December 12, 2024. Should friends desire, in lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts to the following organizations that were especially meaningful to Albert: KERA, The Japanese Garden, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.