Masakatsu Nakamura

Mas (Masakatsu) Nakamura died Oct. 28. He was 88 years old.

Mr. Nakamura was born Jan. 8, 1931, in Newark, CA, and attended Newark Grammar School. In 1942 his family was sent to the Japanese internment camp in Tule Lake, and in 1946 they returned to Fremont, CA. He graduated from Washington High School in 1950. In 1952 he was drafted into the Army and stationed at Fort Ord.

He married Betty Ishibashi in 1954, and they had one daughter. In 1961 they moved to Santa Cruz where he worked for Nix Nursery in Soquel. In 1990 he purchased the nursery and renamed it Mura Nursery, as his older brother, Shig, had Naka Nursery.

He retired in 1996 and worked part time at Suncrest Nursery. He was called out of retirement to manage Naka Nursery. He retired again in 2010 and volunteered at the UCSC Arboretum. He was a past president of the Monterey chapter of the California Nurseryman's Association.

Mr. Nakamura is survived by his daughter, Charlene Nakamura. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty (Ishibashi) Nakamura.

Funeral services will be held on Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple.

Mehl's Colonial Chapel has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Published in The Pajaronian · November 15, 2019