Henry (Hank) Takeshi Miyoshi

Hank was born to Sengoro and Haru Miyoshi in Thomas, Washington (now north Auburn) on 2/17/17 and died in Seattle on 12/30/10, after a brief illness. The oldest of six surviving children,he was raised on the family farm in Thomas and graduated from Auburn High School. He attended automotive school in Los Angeles, then returned to the northwest to work at a service station in Seattle and later operate a parking garage in Tacoma. He enlisted in the United States Army on December 6, 1941 and served until the end of the war as a small tank operator and mechanic. He married Masue (Mosi) Kiyohara in 1947, and they had three sons, Henry Richard, Thomas James, and Harold Raymond. After his Army service, Hank returned to his birthplace, where he farmed and operated a garage with his brother Jim for eight years. He then worked for 23 years as the maintenance mechanic for K.E. Ardell’s Auburn feedlot. When the feedlot closed he “retired,” but soon found himself working again as a mechanic, providing small engine repair at Cavanaugh Hardware. Retiring again seven years later, he enjoyed raising flowers and hybridizing rhododendrons with his wife, Mosi, until her death in 1993. Throughout his life he was self-effacingly active in the Valley community, including serving for several decades as a volunteer fireman, and in various capacities in the White River Buddhist Temple, which he continued to serve until he moved from the Valley to Seattle in his 80s. After his move he volunteered with Nikkei Concerns’s Kokoro Kai adult day program until his early 90s, when physical problems started to slow him down. He is survived by son Dick and daughter-in-law Susan in Seattle; son Tom, daughter-in-law Patricia, and grandson Robert in Denver; son Harry and grandson Dwight in Seattle; sister Doris Shimizu in San Diego; brothers Ed in Seattle and Fred in Olympia; and nieces and nephews around the country. A memorial service will be held January 8, 2011 at 1pm at White River Buddhist Temple, 3625 Auburn Way North, Auburn. Funeral Arrangements are entrusted to Price–Helton Funeral Home, Auburn, WA. Online sentiments may be offered at www.priceheltonfuneralhome.com Remembrances may be made to White River Buddhist Temple, Nikkei Concerns or a charity of your choice.

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