Frank Mori, dearly beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, and friend to many, passed from this life to his new life with Jesus Christ, in the early morning hours of January 9, 2013. Frank was 92 years old.
Frank was born and raised in Santa Barbara. His legacy is amazing, from his many years sharing his horticultural expertise as co-owner of Katashi Landscape Nursery to his 23 years of volunteer work at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, and his faithful commitment to Bethany Congregational Church and Goleta Vineyard, Frank did everything unto The Lord with a desire to love and bless everyone with whom he came in contact.
Having lived his entire life in Santa Barbara, Frank saw many changes. His formal education began in a one-room school house where his first teacher gave him the name “Frank” when she couldn’t pronounce his given name, Sadao. The Mesa was then mostly bean fields and Lazy Acres Market now stands on a portion of his parents’ leased parcel where they made a good living initially growing Freesia bulbs and then vegetables during the Great Depression.
When WWII broke out, Frank and his family were interned at relocation camps along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans. While incarcerated in a desert camp at Gila River, Arizona, he met his future wife, Misao, and shortly thereafter enlisted in the United States Armed Forces and joined the 77th Combat Division as a member of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He served as an interpreter in active duty in the Western Pacific and was among the first troops to set foot on Japanese soil before the war ended.
When Frank returned from the war, he met his 1-1/2-year old daughter, Dianna, for the first time. He was in the first graduating class of the Brooks Institute of Photography and shared his skills and love of photography with his children. He also worked in landscape design and maintenance, and plant sales, before opening Katashi Landscape Nursery with his brother, Joe, on Haley Street, and then Overpass Road where Terra Sol Garden Center now operates.
In Frank’s later years, he loved propagating unusual plant varieties, ministering in various settings , and enjoyed his
children and grandchildren. In recent years he took great care of Misao as she recovered from a serious injury, and he tended to his garden daily up until the time of his admission to Serenity House.
Even in the last few months of his life, being well cared for at Serenity House, Frank showed concern for other residents and often talked and prayed with them. He received daily visits from his loving and supportive family, and many others in the community who have been touched by his life.
Frank is survived by Misao, his wife of 69 years; daughter Dianna (and Don) Ricky; son Andrew (and Janna) Mori; son Stephen (and Kae) Mori; and daughter Elizabeth (and Robert) Muraoka. Grandchildren: Eric (and Takako) Hendrickson, Rachel (and Alexis) Bidou, Joanna Mori, Nathaniel Mori, Meagan (and Juan) Fonseca, Stephen Muraoka (and fiancee, Ayako Hattori), and Riley Muraoka. Great-grandchildren are Joshua and Shaun Hendrickson, and Eliott Bidou.
A celebration of Frank’s life will be held, on Saturday, February 2, 2013 at 1pm at Living Faith Church, 4597 Hollister Ave, Santa Barbara. A reception will follow at Carrillo Recreation Center, 110 E. Carrillo St, Santa Barbara, from 2:30pm- 5pm.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Goleta, P.O. Box 448 Goleta, CA. 93116
