Naomi Mori

Naomi Mori passed away unexpectedly on October 26, 2020 while on an adventure to enjoy nature. It took place in the McBride Springs Campground in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. Her trip took her along the coast north of San Francisco, with stops in the Gualala Campground, Ukiah, Eureka, and Medford Oregon, on her way to Mt. Shasta.

Naomi is survived by her husband, Stephen Mori, her brother’s family, Ken Takeshita and Dawn Kerbow, daughters Stephanie Roh and Robin Soe, their husbands Sirk Roh and Justin Soe, respectively, and grandchildren, Katelyn Roh and Trevor and Kevin Soe.

Naomi Mori was born at the Manzanar Relocation Center on March 6, 1943 to Hitoshi and Fumi Takeshita. The Takeshita family settled in Los Angeles where Naomi attended Maryknoll School, a Catholic high school, and Mt. St. Mary’s College. She went on to a Master’s Degree in Education and taught school in Los Angeles, Redwood City, and Ojai, California.

She married Stephen Mori in 1971. They lived in the Bay Area, raising two daughters. Her dedication to the education and development of her daughters led her to enroll them in Montessori schools in the Bay Area before finding the Oak Grove School in Ojai, CA in 1982 where the girls completed their elementary and secondary education.

Naomi dedicated herself to her family, giving up her teaching career. Her relationship with her daughters grew into close ties to her daughters’ families and her three grandchildren. Having lived in Ojai and Santa Barbara for many years while her daughters’ families grew, Steve’s retirement in 2009 allowed her to dwell in the growth of the families with many trips to the San Jose area where both Stephanie and Robin had settled. She and Steve moved to The Villages in San Jose in 2011 where they were able to enjoy an especially close and loving relationship with their daughters’ families.

Her special avocation was organizing family travel to the many places she traded their timeshare units. The whole family enjoyed the many adventures to the faraway places that Naomi found for us.