Born on January 15, 1935, William Koreaki Yamamoto was the 6th child born to Tame Yamamoto and the 12th and last child of Kanichi Yamamoto. He was born in Berkeley just up the street from Berkeley Higashi Honganji Temple in the big brown-shingled house where he spent his formative years except for the 3.5 years spent in Gila River Internment Camp in Arizona. Being the youngest in the family, Bill was coddled and spoiled by his mom, dad and older siblings. Looking cute and cuddly, his mom used to say Ko-chan was a very good boy who never gave her any trouble.
Bill spoke fondly of the camp days. Being incarcerated as a child 7 years old was a different experience than for an adult. Being the leader of his gang of four, Bill would order his guys to wake up early and reserve seats for the weekly outdoor movie. This was done by placing a personal zabuton (cushion) on a metal folding chair. Being the leader meant he himself was not in the rotation. He always slept in! He spoke of playing Dare Base, marbles, doing tricks on the high bars, and jumping in the middle of dust whirlwinds.
After three and a half years of living in a tar-papered barrack behind a barbed wire fence, the war ended and the Yamamoto Family returned to Berkeley. Bill completed his education in the Berkeley schools and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Landscape Architecture in 1957. He worked designing gardens for residences and businesses in addition to city parks in Berkeley, San Jose and San Francisco until he retired in 2005.
Bill enjoyed playing basketball and tennis with friends plus watching all sports in season on TV. He conscientiously worked the daily Sudoku puzzles in the SF Chronicle for 13 years.
Bill is survived by his wife, Enid, whom he met on a ski trip and proposed exactly a year later. They were married 54 years ago in 1969.
Bill was officially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s Dementia in 2018. He entered the memory care unit of El Cerrito Royale in June, 2021. He passed away peacefully and comfortably on May 29, 2023.
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