In Loving Memory Katsumi Yamamoto 1928 – 2022
Katsumi (Kats) Yamamoto, 93 years old, of Sacramento, CA, passed away on January 8th, 2022. Kats passed away in the early morning at ACC Maple Tree Village, Sacramento, CA. Kats’ loving wife, Helen, passed away peacefully on February 16, 2021 with Kats at her side, also at ACC Maple Tree Village.
Kats was born on June 28th 1928 to Eijiro Yamamoto (father) and Masa Kuwabara-Yamamoto (mother), both parents were first generation Japanese (Issei). Kats grew up in Penryn, CA at Greentree and attended Placer Elementary School.
In 1942, due to Executive Order 9066, at age 14, he was interned with his family to the internment camp at Tule Lake, CA. for the rest of WWII.
He met the love of his life, Helen Dairiki, while she was working at the soda fountain counter at the Rexall Main Drug Store in Loomis, CA. They wed in 1952, going on to have three children, Shirlene [Ault], Alan and Mavis [Williams].
Kats completed trade school in automotive repair in Los Angeles, CA and Helen attended UCLA during this time. They eventually moved back to Sacramento where Kats owned and operated a Union 76 station on the corner of 12th and E Streets. He worked with his best friend and partner in crime, Richard Kanemoto. Kats also employed, mentored, and befriended many young men at the gas station, often feeding them dinner with the family at Hong Kong Café. He later got out of the gas business and opened Kats Automotive at 30th and S Street.
Kats was very social and participated in many bowling leagues, took ballroom dancing lessons, and sponsored his beloved super modified racing cars. He hosted years of mochi-tsukis and shogatsu (New Year’s) feasts. Kats and Helen also became famous for their delicious cured olives and found the most delicious peaches every year to share with family and friends.
Not one to sit idle in retirement, he continued to keep busy by working at J Street Auto Repair, delivered auto parts for Lamus Lundee, worked at Mervyns, and even kept most of his tools and equipment and serviced cars for friends and family out of his home garage on San Miguel Way.
A die-hard Sacramento Kings fan, when he couldn’t wiggle out of certain events, he would often listen to the games with his earbuds instead of watching the game on TV.
Finally, what most people will remember about Kats is his wicked sense of humor and his friendly smile.
During their retirement years, both Kats and Helen pitched in to help care for their three granddaughters, Cameron, Laurel and Devon as well as embark on many months’ long motorhome trips with Helen across the United States and Canada, vacationing in Tahoe and going to casinos to play blackjack.
Sadly, the last couple years have been difficult for Kats as both he and Helen transitioned into Maple Tree Village for Assisted Living and Helen into Memory Care at Maple Tree. Kats spent every day with Helen in the Memory Care wing being her constant companion and overseeing her care.
In addition, during this period, the COVID pandemic occurred which only made things even more difficult for Kats as Maple Tree went into lockdown for every reported COVID positive test for staff and other residents which restricted him to his apartment for weeks at a time until everyone was tested negative for COVID.
Kats is survived by his children, Shirlene Ault (husband Jack) and Mavis Williams (husband Jeff), and son, Alan. He has three lovely granddaughters whom were the light of his life, Cameron, Laurel and Devon Williams. All three are now wonderful young women (Cameron 23, twins Laurel & Devon 20) and it is clear they adored both their Gi-chan and Ba-chan. The girls often visited Kats and Helen at Maple Tree Village.
Kats is also survived by Helen’s siblings, Jack Dairiki, Ned Dairiki, and Alice Murphy.
Kats’ brothers, Eichi and Fred, predeceased him as well as their wives, Harue and Toshiko. Fred and Toshiko are survived by their son, Tom, and Eichi and Harue are survived by their children, David and Judie Yamamoto-Dudsak.