Okumura Family

Fred and Mary Okumura, 1942. Taken in Vancouver. P-14233.

Fred Hideo Okumura [1907 – 2001]

Mary Satoye Okumura (nee Yamada) [1922 – 1998]

Fred Hideo Okumura was born on November 21, 1907, in Shizuoka-ken, Japan, to Ryuzo and Tome (nee Sagara). He immigrated to Vancouver, BC, at the age of 17 in 1924. He worked as a fisherman in Steveston, a tractor and Caterpillar driver in Vancouver, and a mining camp cook in Stewart, BC. He was forced to relocate to Vernon, BC, in 1942. He worked at an orchard and a work camp in Thunder River, BC.

Mary Sotoye Okumura (nee Yamada) was born on September 29, 1922, in Shiga-ken, Japan, to Masajiro and Tome Yamada (nee Yanagidate). Mary immigrated to Vancouver at the age of 4 in 1926. Mary’s parents passed away in her childhood. Chizue, the oldest sister, had to raise the three younger siblings by working as a barber in their shop.

Fred and Mary married on January 27, 1943, in Vernon. They had six children: Robert, Kenneth, Jean, Pat, Ann, and Henry. Shortly after Jean’s birth, the family moved to Revelstoke. Fred worked for Canadian Pacific Railway, as a custodian at Revelstoke Secondary School, and as a bartender at the Royal Canadian Legion. He resigned from his position with CPR in the mid 1960s and started Fred’s Janitorial Service with Mary. The business dissolved in the early 1970s.  

Henry and Fred Okumura in judo uniforms, ca. 1960s. P-14266.

The home that Fred built for his family at 318 Townley Street in Revelstoke was known for its beautiful flowers, as both Fred and Mary were expert gardeners. 

The whole family was active in sports. Fred taught judo and was active in the Revelstoke Ski Club. When Japanese ski-jumping champions came to Revelstoke for the Tournament of Champions in the 1960s, Fred travelled to Vancouver to meet them and accompany them to Revelstoke. In 1960, youngest son Henry was cited as the youngest skier in Revelstoke, at the age of 13 months. Fred was recognized as the oldest curler and oldest tennis player in Revelstoke at the age of 81. He had played tennis as a boy in Japan and was an expert player.

Fred passed away on June 11, 2001, in Revelstoke, at the age of 93. Mary passed away on December 4, 1998, in Kelowna, at the age of 76. They are both buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Revelstoke.

The Okumura home is still standing and remains in the family.