Shigeru Ochi Dies at 102
Shig visits his childhood home in East LA, date unknown.
Poverty and Discrimination
Shig was only five when the Stock Market Crash of 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression which would last a decade. He was raised in East Los Angeles, a community which had long been full of crime and poverty.
When Shig was only months away from graduating high school, our country was drawn into World War II. He and his family were ordered by the federal government out of their home to Manzanar concentration camp in the harsh California desert simply because they were of Japanese ancestry; they were forced to abandon anything they could not carry.
More than 10,000 people were crammed into one square mile behind barbed wire, searchlights and military police at Manzanar.
Family pilgrimage to Manzanar Historic Site, 2007.
Shig during his military service with young relatives in Hiroshima who survived the atomic blast.
Shortly after release, he was drafted into the Army; Shig was eager to demonstrate he was a loyal American citizen by serving in the military.
After the atomic bomb decimated Hiroshima and killed about 237,000 people, Shig was sent to Japan with the American occupational forces. The Ochi family had been based in Hiroshima for centuries, and miraculously he was able to find and help relatives who had survived the blast but were coping with radiation sickness, wounds and malnutrition.
After his military service ended, Shig resumed his college education.
Outstanding Student
Shig loved learning and recognized the immense power of education to transform lives. He graduated at the top of his class from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. This distinction along with a perfect score in Math on the Graduate Record Exam helped him earn a scholarship to MIT for graduate school.
From left: Virginia, Bob, Steve, Jim, Wendy and Shig c. 1968.
Family Man
He met and married Virginia Inouye and raised a family of four children in New Brighton, MN.
Shig along with a few other engineers broke away from UNIVAC, one of the first computer companies, to form Comten, a communications computer company. This startup went public in 1968 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Shig had wanted to become a medical doctor, but his parents needed him to help support them.
After he fulfilled that obligation, Shig was advised that at the age of 40 he was too old to start his medical education.
Nevertheless, he was determined to give his children opportunities he never had.
From left: Bob is a retired neuroradiologist, Wendy is an educator, Steve is a family physician and Jim is a retired pediatric head and neck surgeon, September 2025.
Family First
Shig had high expectations for his children and showed them what can be accomplished through hard work. He and Virginia lived far below their means and paid for all of the educational expenses of their kids.
All four graduated from college; one became a teacher and three became medical doctors, amounting to over 28 years of paying for tuition, room and board. He was extremely proud of the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren, despite having difficulty expressing this sentiment most of the time.
Shig and May, June 2019.
After Virginia died, he met and married May Ajifu. They both loved experiencing different cultures as they traveled the world.
Honored by Congress
U.S. Congressman Kevin Kiley was one of the guests at Shig’s 100th birthday celebration. He was impressed by Shig’s many accomplishments which led the Congressman to honor him on the floor of Congress.
Shig rose above the poverty and discrimination of his youth through sheer determination and persistence and went on to enable future generations of his family to pursue their passions.
Shig meets Sophie, his newest great-grandchild, for the first time. Shig and Sophie were both born on February 26th, exactly 102 years apart! Photo taken March 22, 2026.
Shig felt abundantly blessed by God for all of the opportunities given to him throughout his long and productive life; he was a lifelong Christian and steadfast in his faith until he died on July 21, 2026 at the age of 102 years in Granite Bay, CA.
Shig’s memorial will be at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 12th at St. Andrew’s By the Sea, 2001 Calle Frontera, San Clemente, CA 92673.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Salvation Army, an organization that Shig admired and respected throughout his life.