Donald Mitsuru Wakida

1938 - 2022

Donald Mitsuru Wakida
August 5, 1938 - July 17, 2022
Fresno, California - Donald Mitsuru Wakida died on Sunday, July 17, 2022 in Fresno, CA. He was 83. Don was a vivacious and funny storyteller and devoted advocate for Japanese American veteran groups.
He was born on August 5, 1938 in Selma, CA, to Frank Mitsumori and Rose Hatsuko Wakida, and raised in rural Parlier. In 1941, he was incarcerated with his parents and younger brother John at the Gila River Relocation Camp for the duration of World War II. The family returned to California in 1945. His father tragically died in 1947 and a year later, his mother married Harry Masao Wakida and had a daughter, Roslyn. Postwar, the family grew up in downtown Fresno and Don attended Emerson Elementary and Longfellow Jr. High. He remembered a childhood of community picnics, playing baseball at the California Field clubhouse with his Mexican and Armenian friends, and movies at Wilson Theater. Don was an avid Boy Scout, earning the highest rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 27 in 1955, and he graduated from Roosevelt High in 1957.
He married Geraldine (Kebo) Wakida in 1962 and had three children. In 1961, he joined the Navy, serving through the Vietnam War and traveling around the world on military cruises. He became a skilled electronic technician, earning the rank of Chief Warrant Officer while stationed in Yokosuka, Japan; Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i; and San Diego, California before retiring after 24 years of service. Following the Navy, he was employed by the U.S. Postal Service for 27 years.
Don served numerous years as Commander for the Central California Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8499, as advocate for the Japanese American Veterans Association, and attended annual reunions with the Friends and Family of Nisei Veterans group in Las Vegas.
He is survived by his wife Gerry, daughters Debbi Jorgensen (Jeff Jorgensen) and Patricia Wakida (Sam Arbizo), son Douglas Wakida (Shawna Haymond), sister Roslyn Lara, and five grandchildren, Ben Jorgensen (Katie Jorgensen), Rachel Jorgensen, Kyle Wakida, Ethan Wakida, and Takumi Arbizo. Donations in his honor to: FFNV https://ffnv.org/donate/.