Osamu “Ham” Miyamoto

Osamu “Ham” Miyamoto
February 23, 1927 – November 20, 2018

Dr. Osamu Miyamoto, 91, passed away in Arcadia, California on November 20, 2018, surrounded by family. Ham, as he was affectionately known, was born in Los Angeles on February 23, 1927 to parents Sadae (Imai) and Koshiro Miyamoto. He attended high school at Elk Grove High School and at Tule Lake and Heart Mountain Internment Camps, where he participated in basketball, football, track and weight lifting.

He served in the army from 1945-1947, where he was a training camp instructor and played and coached on various basketball teams. Ham graduated from Los Angeles City College in 1950 and from Howard University Dental School, with honors, in 1954. He was the first Japanese American to receive an advanced degree in Pediatric Dentistry, graduating from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1957. He practiced as a pediatric dentist with an office in San Gabriel for over 40 years. He also taught at both USC and UCLA dental schools and lectured throughout the US, Japan and Mexico.

Ham married Akiko Sato on July 11, 1954, after a long courtship, and they moved to Arcadia in 1964 with their four children, where he lived until his death. Among his many community activities, he served as Chairman of the Dental Head Start Program of Southern California, as a founder and president of Pasadena Nikkei Seniors and as President of the Issei Oral History Project for 18 years. He loved to play golf and was a frequent emcee at community and family events.

Ham is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Akiko (Sato), daughter Karen and husband Randy Lim; son Keith and wife Debbie; daughter Lynn and husband Kevin Kroeker; son Kent and wife Janet; grandchildren Kenny (and wife, Rachel) and Allyn Lim, Kyle, Kaylin, and Karly Miyamoto, Brett and Lauren Miyamoto, Corrina and Saralyn Kroeker; and great-grand child, Lucas Lim. He is preceded in death by both parents, two sisters, Shigeko Miyamoto and Sachiko Watanabe, and brother, Nobuo.

Ham was a welcoming friend to everyone he met. We will always remember his jokes, his stories and his love of family and of life.

The public visitation for him will be held on Dec.1, Saturday at 10 am, and the private memorial service will be held on Dec. 8, Saturday at 10 am, at Fukui Mortuary “Chapel in the Garden” 707 E. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.