Richard George Numata

Richard George Numata (Dick) was born in Spokane on December 25, 1944, the oldest of four sons to George and Hannah Numata. Richard spent his formative years in Spokane, attending Washington Elementary School and Lewis and Clark High School. His father passed away unexpectedly in January, 1963 while he was a senior in high school. Richard then attended Gonzaga University, where he was active in ROTC, excelling academically attaining a business degree.

After working at Standard gas stations in various locations in Spokane along with brief employment at Alloy Trailers, Richard moved to San Francisco in 1970. He worked as a benefits analyst for Standard Oil, until retiring in 2003.

He remained active following current affairs, finances and politics. Without fail, Richard would drive to the nearby supermarket early each morning to purchase four newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Neighbors and professional people he interacted with described him as an excellent communicator and conversationalist.

Richard enjoyed shopping at a nearby mall, taking advantage of sales to stock up on clothing, office supplies and household products. He kept meticulous records, regularly monitoring his financial affairs. Home projects kept him busy including yard work. He always looked forward to a large annual Japanese food bazaar where he could purchase several meals of his favorite foods - especially Tempura and teriyaki beef skewers.

Richard returned home to Spokane twice per year for many years to visit his mother and help her with household repairs. These were times when he could visit with the rest of his entire family as well, with one of these visits over the Christmas holidays. He treasured these times, and especially enjoyed carrying the youngest children around.

Growing up in Spokane, he used to enjoy playing baseball and basketball with friends and family. As a family, he was an integral part of the family bowling league, with Penguins as the team name. Regular family trout fishing trips to Diamond Lake occured, where two rented aluminum barges were lashed together, followed by picnic barbeque on shore.

In later years, he truly looked forward to regular phone calls and pictures updating the progress on his many, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Every Sunday, he would check his cell phone for new pictures and sit often for hours reviewing his entire collection. As his physical health declined, he was in awe at the offers of help coming from total strangers.

Richard is survived by his three brothers, Robert Numata (Carol), Spokane Valley, WA., Jerauld Numata (Kathy), Woodinville, WA., James Numata (Wendy), Spokane Valley, WA., along with many nieces, nephew, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

Richard was a wonderful brother and will truly be missed.