Dr. John K. Yamamoto Jr.

1939 - 2018

Dr. John K. Yamamoto, Jr. March 22, 1939 - January 5, 2018 Bonita, CA Dr. John K. Yamamoto, Jr., 78, passed away on January 5th, 2018, in Scripps-Mercy Hospital. Dr. Yamamoto lived his life full of grace and compassion. He was constantly surrounded by family and friends. In 1957, when John graduated from Chula Vista High School, he and his good friend decided to go forth and see the world, so they pooled their funds, hopped in a car for an adventure, and made it as far as San Francisco before they ran out of money, and had to return home. In 1959, John was drafted into the United States Army, and proudly if somewhat fearfully, served his country while being sent off to the exotic locales of Fort Sill, OK, and Fort Lewis, WA. It was in 1962 while stationed in Fort Lewis, WA, where he met the love of his life, "His Gal," his future wife of 53 years, Amy Sanbo. At the time of their meeting, Amy was attending classes at the University of Washington, and she was involved with a young man from Hong Kong. One of John's favorite stories is how he managed to steal Amy away from this young man, named Bruce Lee. At the end of his enlistment, John returned home and enrolled in classes at San Diego college. It was during this time, that John and Amy married, the date was December 31st, 1964. Eventually, John transferred to SDSU, the same institution where his legendary father John K. (The Yokohama Express) Yamamoto Sr. lettered in three sports. While attending SDSU, John applied for dental school, and was accepted to Case Western Reserve, in Cleveland, OH. So, in 1967 John and Amy packed everything they owned inside an early 60s Porsche and made the move from San Diego to Cleveland. 1967 was a good year for John. He was doing very well in his classes, he was at the top of the list grade-wise, then in 1968, John and Amy welcomed their first child Lisa into the world, and the world and his GPA has not been the same since. To make ends meet, John took on two jobs working in hospital labs in and around Cleveland. Some of his duties, were orally pipetting urine samples, which although gave him very foul breath, was responsible for him having an immune system that kept him from having to take a sick day until 1985. In 1971, John, now Dr. Yamamoto, graduated from dental school, and returned to Chula Vista to begin his practice. John practiced his brand of dentistry in Chula Vista for 44 years, had thousands of patients who loved him, and they gave him the nickname "DR. Painless." In 1973, two momentous occasions occurred in the lives of John and Amy, first their son David was born, and secondly, they purchased their home in Bonita where they lived together until his death. In 1974, John was one of the co-founders of the United Asian American Council (UAAC). The primary focus of the UAAC, was to combat the growing trend of drug abuse within the Japanese community. It was during this time, that John discovered Kendo, a martial art which would define his way of life for the next 44 years. In later years, John, now known as Sensei, co-founded San Diego Kendo Bu, and taught there as head instructor for more than 20 years. He also founded and was the driving force of UCSD's own Kendo team, a team that went on to beat Harvard at Nationals on multiple occasions. John Yamamoto was a renaissance man, he was an admired husband, father and grandfather, a successful dentist, a talented artist, a gifted musician, a world renowned martial artist who held a Black Belt in not one but two separate martial arts, a professional rock climber, an avid fly fisherman and kayaker. He coached Little League Baseball, held board positions in dance companies, he studied ballet and performed in dance concerts, he played the guitar, the ukulele, the oboe, and he did so much more. John was a dentist that dreamed of being a farmer like his dad. He realized his dream, last year when he bought some goats. He loved those goats, you could often find him sitting in the back yard, next to a fire, sitting there contentedly with a smile on his face, a goat in his lap, and his dog by his side. John was a man of many talents, and titles. He was known as Dad, Grandpa, Sensei, DR. Painless, and so many others, he was a man known and loved by thousands. John is survived, by his wife of 53 years Amy, his children Lisa and David, three grandchildren, and hundreds of students that are also his family. He is loved and will be missed by all of them.