Tomonori Ishikawa

Tomonori, affectionately known as Ish and Tomi, was born in Vermont on December 21, 1966 to his mother Toyoko, who dedicated her life to caring for her family, and his father, Yoshinori, a Professor of Chemistry at USC.

His family moved to Columbia, SC when he was three. He graduated from Irmo High School where he excelled as a student and competed in debate team. He graduated from MIT in 1989 with a SB degree in Economics. Many of us got to know him as a brother of his beloved Nu Delta Fraternity while he studied at MIT. He attended graduate school in Economics at Northwestern University and Tufts University. He lived and studied all over the country including as a Research Assistant to leading economists, as an instructor at Hawaii Pacific University, at the Marriott Corporation in Washington, DC and at the Starcom MediaVest Group. For the past 15 years, he was a Research Associate at USC's Educational Policy Center in the College of Education.

Everyone loved Ish and he loved everyone. He taught us how to enjoy life, eat well, buy office supplies and spend time with friends. He was the organizer and life of the party. A generous friend, he always arrived with huge amounts of food and cooked delicious gourmet meals-albeit on "Ish Standard Time". He was Best Man to many grooms, organized trips, and was the keeper and sharer of who lived where and visited them on his many travels.

Ish is preceded in death by his parents and survived by hundreds of friends and his Nu Delta brothers who he met along the way.

The Celebration of Life for Tomonori, Toyoko and Yoshinori Ishikawa will be held on Saturday, October 14th, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. in Elmwood Cemetery.

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