Mitsuru “Mits” Moriyama passed away suddenly on August 28, 2013 at his home in Morgan Hill. He was born in Rains, Utah on July 4, 1926 to Taneto and Mine Moriyama and was the oldest son in a family with three sisters and a brother. Mits joined general Patton's third army in 1944 and was part of the U.S. Occupation in Europe. He returned home in 1946 due to the death of his father and took schooling in automotive body and fender repair in Los Angeles, CA. Afterwards, he rejoined his family to do share-cropping at various farms in California. It was a chance meeting in Campbell, CA that he met his future wife, Lili Teramoto, when their two families were share-cropping in the same area. Mits and Lili married at Wesley Methodist Church in San Jose in 1953. In 1954 they bought the old Sanfilippo farm in south San Jose, where they raised their family of five sons and a daughter for sixteen years. During those years, Mits became a self-employed businessman and had to manage his crops and numerous workers, and then ship his produce to various markets in the U.S.A. To save costs, he learned the skills of a mechanic, electrician, plumber, construction worker, and welder. In 1972, he sold the farm and moved to Morgan Hill, becoming a mechanic for Thompson Shell that was located on the corner of 4th and Taylor Streets in San Jose for many years. During that time, he became good friends with Bill Thompson, the other employees and many of the regular customers and local residents of the area. After working for Thompson Shell, Mits worked as a mechanic for other local automotive shops before finally working part-time in semi-retirement for his friend Frank Togami.
Mits loved to work with his hands, enjoyed physically challenging tasks and never shied away from hard work. He had a deep love for all his children and spoke with great pride in their accomplishments. As for his grandchildren, he took pride in what fine young people they had grown up to be and how they started their own families. As for his favorite events, Mits always enjoyed his birthday on the 4th of July when everyone in the family would get together for a barbecue and doing mochitsuki with those early morning wake up calls to pound rice. He was always there to lend a helping hand to his children, relatives, and friends. He taught his children the importance of family and spending time with our loved ones.
Mitsuru Moriyama is survived by wife, Lili; his children: Mark (wife Marilyn), Cherri (husband Roberto), Craig, David, and Tom (wife Terry); his grandchildren: Roberto (wife Alexis), Linda (husband Christian), and Jennifer (husband Justin); his great grandchildren: Roberto, Bella, Abram, Jackson, Ella, and Taylor; his brother Skeezix, and sister Jene.
A private funeral service was held at Wesley United Methodist Church on September 14, 2013 and Mits's remains were buried with military honors at Oak Hill Cemetery with the attendance of his immediate family.
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