Yoshiro Katsura

Yoshiro Katsura, a well-loved and honorable man, died January 30, 2014. He was born in Oakland, CA on October 15, 1934 to Tomiichiro and Tsuru Katsura who had both immigrated from Japan. The family lived in Berkeley except for the years when Yosh was 7 to 11 years of age. During that time Yosh and his family were among the approximately 120,000 persons kept in internment camps by the U.S. government during WWII. He and his family were kept at the Tanforan race track in a horse stall and at Topaz near Delta, Utah. At a camp reunion it was reported by many people that Yosh and his brothers were known to be the smartest people in the camp of approximately 8,000 internees and also the objects of many young girls' affections. Yosh completed his first engineering project at Topaz, a small, cement-lined pond outside their barracks. It still exists. After the war Yosh and his family returned to Berkeley per his mother's wishes so that her sons could attend UC Berkeley. They rebuilt their lives without bitterness while living in a garage. Yosh graduated from Berkeley High School where he was the student body president and participated in football and diving. His feats on the football field were well documented in the local newspaper. He played the trumpet in the school band and formed his own band that played at dances and parties. Yosh graduated from UC Berkeley, School of Engineering. While there, he played rugby. He was proud of having played rugby in Vancouver, Canada. Even in his 70's, Yosh was recognized by people who remembered him from his athletic achievements. Yosh was a registered civil engineer (P.E.). After working some time for other companies, he opened his own firm, Katsura Consulting Engineers. He specialized in water and waste water treatment facilities. His work can be seen around California, especially Ventura and Los Angeles counties, even alongside the grapevine. He completed projects in South Korea. Once Yosh allowed himself to slow down his business, he and Betty took wonderful trips, near and far. Some of the highlights include walking through crop circles in England, visiting Japan during cherry blossom time, and taking Betty to Okinawa where she lived when she was young. Yosh was an intelligent man who was well informed of national and world news. At one time he read 3 newspapers a day. He read books on political and economic subjects. He enjoyed PBS, NPR, classical music, ballet, and plays. Recently a doctor noted that the news and hanging out with Betty kept Yosh going. Yosh was a witty and humorous man who loved to laugh and made people laugh, often without intending to do so. His humorous sayings and stories became known as Yoshisms. To the end, to meet Yosh was to love Yosh. His kindness, honesty, and goodness were evident and drew people to him. Yosh's loss is mourned by Betty, his wife of 11 years, his three daughters and their husbands: Kimiye and Larry Cronin, Miyoko and Michael Sawamura, and Midori and Jeff Resler, and his son Ken Katsura. His brother and sister-in-law, Toshiro and Irene Katsura, survive him. Missing him also are Betty's daughter, Alisa Van Order, her husband Tim Bukovszky, and their children Jeremiah and Paige. Yosh was a modest man and wished to have no services. While he would have found this tribute much too wordy and immodest, it is a celebration of the life of this wonderful man and an acknowledgement of our love and respect for him. A man so deeply loved is deeply mourned and will be missed forever.

Arrangements under the direction of Charles Carroll Funeral Home, Ventura, CA.