Yuji Morita died Friday March 16, 2018, he was 93 years old. He would have been 94 next week, and over those years he lived a quiet, yet interesting life. Many of those interesting things occurred because so much happened in the world since he was born. Others arose out of his own curiosity.
Yuji was born on March 23, 1924, in San Francisco to Nobutaro and Toshi Morita, the second of four children. The family lived there until they were sent to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming during World War II. Yuji was one of the few Japanese-Americans allowed to leave any of the camps because he received a scholarship to Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio. He would leave college because he expected to be drafted soon and worked on the east coast in various jobs until joining the Army. He was drafted in the spring of 1945. He went through training at several bases and was discharged in late 1946. He received a master's of engineering degree at the University of Michigan and began working at its Willow Run labs, where he met his wife, Shelia Coon, whom he married in Ypsilanti on November 26, 1960. They raised four children in Ann Arbor, where he worked for the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan for more than 30 years. In retirement, he enjoyed reading and doing crossword puzzles, and especially, sharing the company of the many friends from his daily breakfast at Bell's Diner and from his luncheon group.
His mix of caring, stoicism, and curiosity about the world made him a strangely unexpressive, yet pleasant role model. It also helped him take a world that did not always welcome him and make himself a valued and beloved part of it.
He was preceded in death by his wife Shelia, infant twin daughters Toshi and Helen, and his brother Yoshikazu. He is survived by his sisters, Shizuko Morita and Yasuko Ikeda; daughters Suky and Patsy and sons Bruce and Joe; several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, please send gifts in memory of Yuji Morita to Heidelberg University, 310 E. Market St., Tiffin, OH 44883.
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