August 8, 1920 – December 5, 2013 Tomio “Tom” Satow passed away peacefully at his home in Carpinteria, California on December 5,2013. Tom was the third son of Tomijiro and Shiku Satow of Hawthorne, California. His siblings were Hideo, Toshiko, Takeo, Tadao, Kunio, Setsuo, and Fumio.
As a boy, Tom enjoyed model building and built many radio-operated planes that he liked to fly. He graduated from Leuzinger High School in 1938 as the class Salutatorian. He attended Compton Junior College and graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
Tom met his wife Masa in a relocation camp in Rower, Arkansas. They were married in Chicago, Illinois in 1944 and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where their first daughter, April was born in 1945. Although Tom was incarcerated in the war, he was drafted into the army and became a sergeant serving in the Military Intelligence Service. He received a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service to the United States in 2010.
After the war, the Satow family moved back to Hawthorne, California to work in the family flower business. Tom and Masa had two more daughters, Elizabeth in 1948 and Janet in 1952. He devoted his life to the Satow family flower business moving to Carpinteria in 1970 to continue growing carnations and avocados. He became a member of the Carpinteria Kiwanis Club where he served as their secretary for many years.
His loving wife Masa preceded Tom in death in 2011. He is survived by his youngest brother Fumio (Chieko) and devoted daughters April Riessen(Marty), Liz Butcher(Andrew), Janet Harris (James):granddaughters, Jennifer Riesssen Rickard (John), Cristina Riessen Broderick(Cris), and Vanessa Peterson and four great grandchildren Catherine and Jack Broderick and Riesse and John Rickard. Tom was also an uncle to many nephews and nieces. Tom was an avid reader all his life and had a keen memory; he will be greatly missed by his family and friends. The family held a private celebration of his life on December 21,2013.
