Thomas Sadao Fujiyoshi

1932 - 2010

"Husband, father, friend, genius, Thomas Sadao Fujiyoshi left us on September 13, 2010.
Tom was born December 14, 1932, son of Thomas Yasaburo and Jane Sadako (Takeuchi) Fujiyoshi, and grew up on the Foster ranch. Ochelata class of 1951, he earned a mechanical/aeronautical engineering degree at Oklahoma State in 1958, joined the Martin Co. as a rocket engineer at Vandenberg, California, and married his lifetime love and collaborator Marilyn Foss. He oversaw 109 successful launches and worked his way to upper management, but his greatest pride was raising his three sons. Work took him to Canada, Washington, DC, and finally Denver, where he retired and turned to volunteering. Tom and Marilyn found an idyllic home in northern California, where Tom lived his greatest contentment, creating fine craft pieces, keeping bees, seeing the western states by camper, and continuing to volunteer. Tom had a brilliant mind, delighted in ingenuity, and could make instant friends with you. After a brush with death from a thyroid problem as a teen, he considered every new day a bonus. He braved non-smoker's lung cancer for several months, but made his exit with honor when it was time.
Preceded by his parents and sister Helen, he is survived by his wife of 46 years, sons Phillip and Matthew, son and daughter-in-law Christopher and Abbey (Hassinger), and brother-in-law Jim Rementer. Tom was a remarkable man who enriched the lives of all those fortunate enough to know him."