Martha Miyo Morimoto

Martha Miyo “Marty” Morimoto of El Cerrito, California passed away peacefully at her home on June 4, 2026.

Marty is preceded in death by her brother Ernest (“Ernie”). She leaves behind and will be deeply missed by her sister Frances (“Jo”) Uyesaka, brother-in-law Bob, sister-in-law Teresa, husband Hiromi, children Rod (Nancy), Kim (Conor), Alyssa (Jeff), grandchildren Samuel, Reilly, Lauren, Kristen, and Samantha, and her many nieces, nephews and friends.

Marty was born February 22, 1938 on George Washington’s birthday (hence Martha, in honor of the first lady) in San Diego, California. Her childhood was spent in Southern California except for a period of time when her family was relocated to the Poston Arizona Japanese American Internment camp during WWII. She returned before the start of elementary school, and brought her typical enthusiasm to Sweetwater High School in National City, as a member of the cheer and glee club.

Marty forged her own path to the University of California Berkeley, earning herself a scholarship and working for room and board. She graduated with degrees in Political Science and Anatomy. It was there that she met her future husband, Hiromi, who came to visit his cousin, her roommate.

Once married, Marty and Hiromi lived in Albany and Berkeley before finally buying a house in the El Cerrito hills. With energy and drive, Marty raised three children while also balancing her career. She and Hiromi prioritized their education and celebrated their children as they attended Harvey Mudd College (Rod) and UC Berkeley (Kim and Alyssa) to attain degrees in General Engineering (Rod), Rhetoric and Slavic Languages and Literature (Kim), and Biochemistry
(Alyssa); To the delight of Marty, a strong proponent of female education and achievement, Kim subsequently earned a Juris Doctor and Alyssa a PhD. Later in life, Marty dedicated herself to investing in order to support her grandchildren financially as they planned for college. They all graduated from or are admitted to distinguished universities, studying disciplines including law, computer science & economics, environmental science, and molecular and cell biology. Epitomizing a “people person,” Marty loved and was loved by many co-workers as her career took her between a variety of positions at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory providing key administrative support to engineers and computer scientists doing research and development in particle accelerators, energy efficient buildings, the first computers to run the deploying Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuter rail, and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners, a predecessor of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems.

After she retired from LBNL, Marty became a devoted grandparent known as “Mimi”, school volunteer, skilled stock trader (often beating the S&P 500), Tilden park hiker, and fast friend to everyone she met.

Services were held at the Sunset View Cemetery in El Cerrito on June 9, 2026 and her ashes will be scattered in La Jolla waters near San Diego, per her wishes. Please do not send flowers or cards but instead consider donations to densho.org or the American Cancer Society.

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