Roy M. Enomoto

Roy Mitsuro Enomoto

OGDEN a€" On Wednesday, July 15, 2009, Roy Enomoto, a longtime Ogden resident died quietly in his sleep.

Roy was born in San Jose, California on February 25, 1920, the oldest of five sons born to Harry Yoshiro and Shizuye Hatanaka Enomoto. The family moved to Merced, California, where Roy grew up on the family farm. He loved to hunt and fish once his chores were done. Roy attended school in Merced. At Merced Union High School, he was a distance runner on the Merced High School track team. He graduated in 1939, and continued to work on the family farm.

Roy was picking lettuce when he heard reports of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He promptly enlisted in the U.S. Army and was one of the last men assigned to the 100th Combat Battalion, an all Japanese-American unit. When the 100th was combined with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (The "Go for Broke" 442nd), Roy became a member of the most decorated unit in US Army history. He served in Italy, France and Germany before returning to the United States upon his discharge. His parents and younger brothers had been interned in the Amache Relocation Center through the war and moved to Ogden when they were released from the camp, so Roy came to Ogden.

While living in Ogden, Roy met and later married Mitsuko Hamada. They moved to Los Angeles so that Roy could attend Television School on the GI Bill. While there, their first child, Linda, was born. Soon thereafter, the family returned to Ogden, where his son Robert was born.

Roy worked for Read Brothers and Lowe''s in Ogden before opening his own television repair shop, Roy''s Quality TV. Upon the death of his wife in 1972, Roy sold his business and went to work for Wells Distributing in Salt Lake City, where he was in charge of training Zenith dealer service personnel. He continued to work for Kiesel Sales in Ogden as well. After retiring from Wells Distributing, Roy worked for many years for Stimsons Garden Center, where he cared for the plants and made sure that his customers got the best possible plants for their gardens.

He was active with the Nisei Veterans in the area, playing golf and bowling, and as a member of the Japanese Christian Church of Ogden.

In recent years, Roy enjoyed gardening, painting in acrylics, reading Louis L''Armour, sea adventures and action novels, and tending his garden where he fed all his neighbors with the fruits of his labor.

Surviving are his daughter, Linda (Geoffrey) Enomoto-Russell, Ogden; his son, Robert of Ogden; two grandsons, Jared Russell, Los Angeles, CA; and Timothy Russell, Karatsu, Japan.

Also surviving is one brother, Rayton (Amey) of Monterey Park, CA; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Roy was preceded in death by his wife, Mitsuko, his parents, and his brothers, Shirow, John, and Marvin.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10 a.m. at Lindquist''s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd., with the Reverend Jerry Hirano officiating.

Family will meet friends at the mortuary on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday 9 to 10 a.m.

Inurnment, Ogden City Cemetery.

Cremation under the direction of Lindquist''s Crematory.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations, in Roy''s memory, be made to the Go For Broke National Education Fund (www.goforbroke.org), or the Japanese American National Museum.

Send condolences to the family at: www.lindquistmortuary.com