Ben Ishida
March 16, 1919 — April 2, 2015
Ben T. Ishida passed away peacefully on April 2, 2015 in Happy Valley, OR.
Ben was born on March 16, 1919 in Sumner, WA, the fourth child and first son of Suetaro and Tomeka Ishida.
In 1942, while farming in Ridgefield, WA, the family was forced to abandon their farm and evacuate to an internment camp in Tule Lake, CA.
On December 14, 1945, Ben married Sumie Yamamoto. They raised two daughters, Susan and Jill.
After the war they eventually settled in Portland, OR. In 1945, Ben started General Industrial Electric Co., manufacturing sawmill equipment, and work with industrial motors. He enjoyed the challenges and rewards of his business career that spanned over fourty years. After his retirement in 1996 he enjoyed spending time with family, especially his grandchildren, travel within the country and frequent trips to Japan.
Ben is survived by his wife, Sumie, daughters Susan (Robert) Yoneda, Jill (Michael Tanaka) Ishida, grandsons Michael Tsotomu and Jon Takeshi Tanaka, sister Mary Yamashita; brothers Nobuo (Takako) and Toshio; many neices and nephews and other realatives.
He was predeceased by his parents; sisters May Furukawa, and Tamiko Ishida; nephews Frank Furukawa, and Richard Furukawa.
A family memorial service was held at the Oregon Buddhist Temple on May 23, 2015.