George Sugimoto at his production facility in 2013. Inset below, Sugimoto served in Korea with the U.S. Army in 1945.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Kazuo George Sugimoto, whose dedication to community bolstered organizations, events and causes for decades, passed away peacefully at his home on Oct. 12 in Pasadena with his daughter, Lisa, and son, Nathan, by his side. He was 99.
Sugimoto was the founder of KGS Electronics, a successful avionics electronics company that has been in business for over 60 years. He built KGS based on two important business principles, “Situation Awareness” and “Longevity.”
He grew his business and flew his Piper Turbo Arrow with the same keen sense of situation awareness — combining new information with existing knowledge to create a picture of the future and possible courses of action to take. His many business decisions and philanthropic endeavors exemplified his principle of longevity: “Make sure that what’s here today is here tomorrow.”
Sugimoto was born in Parlier, Fresno County, on June 20, 1926. Living in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1920s and ’30s was hard for the family, who had nine children to support. His parents worked as day laborers in farming communities to make ends meet.
Sugimoto discovered an interest in aviation at a very young age. This passion motivated him to go into avionic electronics. He completed one year at Fowler High School before Executive Order 9066 incarcerated the family in the Gila Relocation Center in Arizona.
An older brother was drafted and served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Sugimoto was drafted after answering “yes, yes” to two loyalty questions and entered military service in March 1945. After completing basic training at Camp Fannin in Texas in August 1945, he was sent to Korea to serve with the 6th Army Occupational Forces. After his honorable discharge, he returned to California.
In 1947, he attended the American Institute of Television Technology in Chicago. In 1950, he received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
Later, Sugimoto completed his flight instruction and became an instrument-rated pilot. His passion for flying was fulfilled with his command of a Piper Turbo Aero aircraft for 30 years.
He married Ruri Hirano in September 1951 in Fresno and soon after their marriage moved to Pasadena. Sugimoto received his professional electrical engineer license for the State of California and began his career as an electrical engineer, at one point elevated to chief engineer. Realizing that working for others limited his creative and financial opportunities, he started his own business.
Sugimoto’s home and garage in Pasadena were the beginnings for the design and manufacture of avionic components. KGS Electronics has been in operation for over 63 years and now occupies a 50,000-square-foot space in Arcadia and a facility in Upland.
“It’s really interesting, actually, he started the business in the garage,” Lisa Sugimoto told ABC7’s Rob Fukuzaki in 2022. “I remember sitting on the floor of the garage and helping him.”
KGS provides products for civil aviation, general and military aviation to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers worldwide. Cessna Aircraft, EADS Airbus, Boeing Aerospace, Learjet Inc., and Robinson Helicopter are some of the many aircraft and aerospace companies KGS serves.
Although Sugimoto was semi-retired, he was in the office almost every day. He also enjoyed volunteering his time and supporting many community organizations. Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Go For Broke National Education Center, Japanese American National Museum, Little Tokyo Service Center, the former Keiro, Rafu Shimpo Foundation, Rob Fukuzaki’s Heads-up Youth Foundation Tournament, Aurora Foundation Tournament, Suburban Optimist Tournament, East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center, and Akimatsuri Tournament benefited from his generosity.
When not spending time with family or giving to community endeavors, Sugimoto spent much of his leisure time on the golf course. Above, he was on the links for the Rafu Shimpo Foundation Charity Golf Classic in West Covina in 2023 with (from left) Jeff Won, daughter Lisa and her husband, Don Nose.
In 2007, Sugimoto was appointed a board member of Keiro, an organization providing support services for Japanese American seniors. He dedicated many years to supporting Japanese and Japanese Americans seniors residing in the U.S. He served on numerous committees of the organization, helping to develop future leadership succession, research focused on older adult health and wellness programs, and regulatory compliance, improving the quality of life for seniors and their caregivers.
He also contributed to promoting mutual understanding and elevating the status of Japanese Americans through his longtime dedication to charitable activities of organizations such as JACCC, JANM, the Rafu Shimpo Foundation and Nisei Week Foundation.
Lisa Sugimoto said for all his contributions to the legacy and history of the Japanese American community, he was very much a “a very lowkey person.”
Having felt he succeeded with his company and raising a family, George felt it was only natural to support local causes.
“I’ve had reasonable success in my business and my life, so no sense in hanging on to it. So I donate where I think its propitious to donate my funds,” he told ABC7.
After 65 years of marriage, Sugimoto’s wife, Ruri, predeceased him in 2016. In addition to children Lisa (Donald) and Nathan (Christine), he is survived by grandchildren Lindsay, Alyssa (Jackson), Aaron and Garrett, and many nieces and nephews.
A private service was held with family and a celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
Sugimoto waves to the crowds at the 2022 Nisei Week Grand Parade, for which he served as grand marshal.
WORDS OF REMEMBRANCE
East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center Board President Tim Itatani:
“We are all very sad to hear about the passing of our very own George Sugimoto, and offer heartfelt condolences to Lisa and Nathan and their families.
“George has always been a very close family friend and supporter to ESGVJCC and its members for many years. Attending many of our events and senior lunches, contributing both monetary and emotionally without the center asking, just because he cared so much about the center.
“We will always support the Sugimoto family in these hard times as they have supported ESGVJCC.”
ESGVJCC Trustee Aya Kamimura:
“Mr. George Sugimoto was a good friend and a great supporter of East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center. His involvement with the center expands over 15 years, which began with participating in the Student Exchange Program and various center events.
“ESGVJCC received a major donation from George to construct its new Social Hall. He also chaired the center’s annual Akimatsuri Golf Tournament for many years.
“As for me, I will always remember the time we took a trip to Japan together. Highlights from that trip include staying at a ryokan in Niigata, visiting Hiroshima Memorial Park, and riding Shinkansen and eating ekiben.
“ESGVJCC will never forget Mr. Sugimoto’s generosity and big, kind heart. I lost one of my dearest friends. Thank you, George, for all the memories.”
JANM: “The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) mourns the passing of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Sugimoto.
“A humble and caring father and husband, Sugimoto enjoyed volunteering and giving back to his community, spending time with his family, and playing golf.”
“JANM is deeply saddened by the passing of George Sugimoto,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM president and CEO. “A prominent figure in the Japanese American community, his generosity helped JANM preserve the history of Japanese Americans, educate generations of students about the World War II incarceration, and ensure that no other community would be similarly targeted.
“By giving back to his community, George helped safeguard JANM’s ability to tell our stories in the face of discrimination, build bridges across communities, and ensure that future generations could build a better tomorrow.”
Rob Fukuzaki, founder of the Heads Up Youth Foundation & ABC7 Eyewitness News Sports Anchor:
“On behalf of our Heads Up Youth Foundation, we will be forever grateful to George Sugimoto and his family for their incredible support over the years. George made such a huge impact on the community and really changed the lives of countless youngsters in need through our HUYF that he supported he impacted so many lives
“With his kindness and generosity, George was like a grandfather type figure to me. It was an honor to call him, my friend. And with all of his success and his unwavering outreach to the community, one thing that never changed was how kind of a person he was and how down to earth he always was.”