Laurence Akira Yano

Larry was born in Los Angeles, California on March 20, 1940 to Thomas and Nellie Yano. He was the middle child, with an older sister, Carol Takeshita and a younger brother, Ron Yano. When he was two years old, the family was relocated from Los Angeles to a detention camp in Poston Arizona. At the beginning of World War II all Japanese were relocated to 10 camps located away from the West Coast. The family did not stay in the camp for very long, they volunteered to pick sugar beets at farms around Denver, Colorado. After the harvest, they moved to Denver and stayed there until after the War.

Although the family moved back to Los Angeles, after a couple of years they moved back to Denver because Larry had asthma and needed a dry climate. Later, Larry overcame his bout with asthma. After a troubled early to mid-teen years, he quit high school and joined the Navy in 1957. The Navy became a home, job, career and family so he stayed for 23 years. He married Hiroko Funukawa while stationed in Japan in 1961. He had two children, Christopher and Elaine. Unfortunately, Chris was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was 22 years old, and Elaine died of cancer at the early age of 28. Hiroko and Larry divorced in 1987.

Larry got his GED while in the Navy and got a BS degree in Computer Science in addition to completing classes towards a Master’s degree. His father was very proud that Larry entered the Navy as an enlisted sailor but progressed to become an officer. When he retired, he was a Lieutenant. During his time in the Navy, he served on a couple of destroyers but eventually qualified to serve on nuclear submarines wearing the Dolphins insignia. For those not familiar with this designation, it is quite an accomplishment since it requires that the individual has the ability to perform every facet of operating the submarine in case other members of the crew are not able to perform their assigned tasks.

After retiring, Larry met Danielle and they got married in 1993. They traveled extensively to Europe and around the United States. Larry enjoyed photography and writing a travel log to go along with his pictures. He volunteered with the Meals On Wheels program and would tell stories of some of the people he met. He also liked jogging and lap swimming. Larry was very involved at Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church where Danielle and he attended. Larry helped with the AV during services and was part of a men's group that met regularly.

Larry passed away unexpectedly the morning of Wednesday, 6/7/2023 from natural causes.

In lieu of flowers donations to Meals On Wheels can be made

Information about donations to Meals On Wheels

https://www.mowsatx.org/donate

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.colonialuniversal.com for the Yano family.