Franklin Itaru Kimura

Frank Kimura passed away quietly at home April 23rd. A celebration of his life will be held at the C.V. Peckham Community Center adjacent to Dakan Funeral Chapel in Caldwell at 2pm on May 23rd.

Frank is survived by his wife of 60 years, Phyllis, his children Thomas and wife Sue, Douglas and wife Terri, Charles and wife Cheri and Julie and husband James. He was also blessed with nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Born May 22, 1935, in Clovis, New Mexico to Tamon and Harue Kimura as the eighth of 13 children. He is survived by his sisters Lil Kiyokawa, Frances Kaneshige, Jane Wing, and brother Fred Kimura. The siblings that preceded Frank in death included brothers Hitoshi, Tadashi, Dick, Kay, Ted and sisters Akiko, Teruko Honda and Blanche Fujii.

At the time of Pearl Harbor, the entire Nikkei community of Clovis was associated with the Santa Fe railroad. There were 10 men, including Frank’s father Tamon, who had been working for the railroad for 20 years or more, several as senior machinists. The men and their families lived outside of town in dwellings that incorporated old railroad cars. Late on the evening of the January 23, 1942, these 32 Japanese Americans were forced to leave by Border Patrol. They were moved to a remote confinement site for nearly a year before being sent to the Poston Relocation Camp.

After being released from the Poston Relocation Camp in Arizona on December 27, 1944, the family moved to Nampa, Idaho. Frank graduated from Caldwell High School in 1954. After serving honorably in the US Army, Frank returned to Idaho where he met and married his wife and partner Phyllis.

Frank worked in the produce departments for Safeway, Food Land and Albertsons eventually retiring from Albertsons after 43 years. It was Joe Albertsons’ supermarket, but the produce department was his!

Nearly each weekend of his working life was spent fishing or golfing or both! Towards the end of his career with Albertsons he was working part-time. During this time he was known to golf, fish AND work all in one day!

He was typically accompanied by his family on the fishing outings. His success with the rod and reel was often hindered by having to untangle, unreel, re-tackle and rebait the kids’ gear every few minutes. His aptitude on the golf course was a source of mystery to the family until the kids grew old enough to accompany him. It turns out he was as bad as he claimed that he was. He was an avid bowler and instilled the love of the game to his kids. All his grandchildren delighted in his magic tricks (ever see a match burn twice?) and loved sharing ice cream, popsicles, and watermelon with him on the front stoop.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donating to the Lt Kay Kazu Kimura USMC Memorial Scholarship.

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