Maruno Family

Mike Masaaki Maruno [1919 – 2008]

Eleanor Shizuko Maruno (nee Tsuchiya) [1924 – 2022]

Mike Masaaki Maruno was born on May 22, 1919, in Vancouver, BC, to Kichitaro and Yoshie (nee Onishi). He was a shipper for the Union Fish Company, which was owned and operated by his father. The store on Powell Street was well-known in the Japanese community. The family owned some properties in East Vancouver. Mike was a player of the Asahi Baseball team from 1934 to 1941. In 1942, he was forcibly uprooted to Revelstoke, and the rest of the family members were uprooted to Toronto, Ontario.

Mike lived in the Big Eddy district and worked for the Pradolini Brothers’ construction company, driving a truck. He also played baseball for the Revelstoke Golden Spike Baseball team. His younger sister, Hinaye (Alice), worked for Mr. Sawyer’s sawmill as a bookkeeper at some point. He met Eleanor Tsuchiya during the internment, and they married at the Revelstoke United Church in 1945. There is a photograph in the museum collection that shows the truck door. It reads: “Maruno, Revelstoke, BC.” It was taken in 1948, and it is assumed that he had a business in Revelstoke around that time. They moved to Ontario, likely in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and lived there until both passed away.

Mike Masaaki Maruno passed away on May 7, 2008, in Toronto at the age of 89. Eleanor Shizuko Maruno (nee Tsuchiya) passed away on January 4, 2022, in Toronto, at the age of 98.

Mike Maruno’s team photo for the Revelstoke Spikes baseball team, October 19, 1945. P-10950.

Eleanor and Mike Maruno’s wedding photo, July 28, 1945.