Bruno Mori passed away peacefully on April 26,2025 at the age of 95. Born on October 22, 1929 Bruno dedicated 43 years of his life serving as the Fire Chief of Thornton, a role that defined his commitment to public service and community safety. Bruno was known for his joyful spirit, and love for gardening, especially renowned for his exceptional tomatoes. He attended New Hope and Galt High School, where he laid the foundation for a lifetime of leadership and service. Bruno is survived by his son, Ulysses Mori (Vicki), and daughter, Juliana Yoka (Frank), along with his cherished grandchildren, Frankie Yoka(Cindy), Valado Mori(Jamie),Khara Oxier-Mori(Josh)and Rhiannon Logan(Marty). He also leaves behind six great-grandchildren who will miss his stories. Bruno was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Retta(Powell)Mori, his parents, Ulisse and Louise(Poggio)Mori, and his eight siblings. A service to honor Bruno's life and contributions will be held on Saturday, May 10,2025 at 10am. Cherokee Memorial Funeral Home, Evergreen Chapel,14165 N Beckman Rd, Lodi, Ca. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Thornton Fire Department honoring Bruno's lifelong commitment to serving and protecting the community.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Lodi-News Sentinel from May 3 to May 10, 2025.

Memories and Condolences
for Bruno Mori

Sponsored by Cherokee Memorial Park & Funeral Home.

8 Entries

kevin lucas

May 19, 2025

so sorry for your loss julie miss you frank and think of you often

Lori

May 8, 2025

Mori Family. Condolences on the loss of Bruno. Julie is was great seeing you and Bruno at the Post Office a few weeks back.. Sadly Thornton lost another long time resident.

Donna Moreno-Beas

May 5, 2025

One of my favorite memories I have is The Chief teaching me how to make coffee in the middle of the night at the fire station. I was manning the station during a wheat field fire. I often tell people that´s where my love of coffee started.

Johnny & Jill De Herrera

May 5, 2025

Sending our deep-condolences to the Mori family. I cannot think about Thornton without Bruno being at the forefront of my thoughts.I have a lot of great memories of Bruno in and around the gas station out in Thornton and of course, the FD ... from way back in the day starting from the mid-60s to mid-80s. When I reached driving age with my learners permit,(mid-70s.., I had a motorcycle that I would drive to Thornton from Lodi after school to look after my dad`s (fuel-purchasing clientele) "pumping gas" (there wasn´t self-service in those days) so dad could work steadily finishing the shop mechanic work... and so, that´s where my memories are mostly gathered from, when Bruno would pull into the station... many times just to check in and always bringing with him a little conversation, or sometimes (off duty), him and his wonderful wife Loretta would pull up to the pumps in his blue/ white Ford pick-up or in their 75´ Olds-Cutlass... Bruno always had something funny to say... He was such a comical guy, and full of so much wisdom, and there was nothing more enjoyable than Bruno´s wisdom combined with humor coming at-cha.... One was able to learn something of substance while getting a laugh out of it as well. My father and Bruno had a lot of interaction when it came to looking after one-another during any given time of the workday. Sometimes Bruno had business to tend to out of town in Lodi or Stockton, or sometimes just locally to check out who was burning on a "No-Burn-Day".. and so, with dad being a fireman, he could look after the fire department while Bruno stepped away for a bit. And likewise, if dad had to deliver a customer´s car a few blocks away, Bruno would stand in for a few moments while dad stepped away. One hand washed the other, so fairly frequently they were a pretty good team. For convenience purposes, there was a Red fire phone and a switch to activate the extremely loud TFD fire horn, that had been installed at Dad`s Chevron station that notified all the volunteers to the FD when an EMR. call came through... I like remembering back on how loosely the fire department could be run and still turn out 100% perfect results... Bruno who I always thought was pretty cool, always had a lot of one liners ( way too many to remember all of them) but many are still with me to this day... After Bruno´s retirement, whenever my travels took me out to or through Thornton, I would stop in to say hello to Bruno cause you could almost always find him irrigating or tending to his crop in one way or another... Over the last couple/few years, I was seeing less and less of him out in the yard when I´d come
by... Many people over the course of many years are so much better off for knowing him. Good ol´ Bruno, Rest easy my friend...!

Donnie and Susan Dixon

May 4, 2025

Our deepest sympathy to all of you! Prayers going your way!

Jennifer Filler Barela

May 3, 2025

I had never met Bruno, but his brother Italo was my uncle. My condolences to his family.

Vicki

May 3, 2025

I met Bruno when I was 15. The year was 1969. I liked him so much I married his only son. Bruno has been a great father-in-law over the last 53 years. I'll miss you Papa Bruno. Rest in peace...

Cherokee Memorial Park & Funeral Home

May 2, 2025

Offering our deepest condolences during this difficult time.

Showing 1 - 8 of 8 results