Nobuko Motozaki's Obituary
It is with profound sadness that Chapel of the Chimes announces the passing of Nob
Nobuko Enomoto was born in 1939 in Wakayama Japan, where she spent her childhood and young adulthood. She was one of 7 children. During World War II, she lived with her grandparents because there were so many mouths to feed. She excelled in school, graduated from high school in Japan, and worked for a chemical company for a few years.
In 1961 she married Robert Motozaki in Japan. They had a second wedding celebration in the U.S. for relatives here after the couple moved to the U.S. shortly after their wedding in Japan. She spent a large amount of time working at the family business, Thornton Nursery in Fremont. She primarily handled flower arrangements, although she also handled the cash register when needed. Bob and Nobuko went to a Giants game on Fremont Day, and learned first-hand how cold that stadium was. Although Bob was the primary baseball fan, Nobuko was not without her own opinions. She once remarked that Maury Wills of the Dodgers was a dirty player. Why? Because he stole so many bases. Some of the Oakland A’s became customers of the nursery. Nobuko once took an order from A’s Hall-of-Fame reliever Rollie Fingers. She didn’t know who he was when taking his name down, so she said, “Fingers, like this (wiggling her fingers in the air)?” Bob and Nobuko had two children, Andy and Cary. Although the family lived in the ranch-style house on the nursery property, they eventually purchased and moved into a house in 1968 in the Warm Springs district a few miles away.
The family lived in the new house for only 5 years, but they were among the best years of her life, Nobuko often recalled. They lived in a small court with wonderful neighbors. The kids often spent more time at neighbors’ houses than their own because every house in the court, quite literally, had kids. Mrs. Kellogg once jumped into a pool to pluck Andy out because he was walking on the bottom of the pool and didn’t know how to swim. Another time the entire neighborhood went out searching for 3 missing kids—Andy, Cary, and their neighbor Danny. The calendar was always packed with kid birthday parties and holidays spent together. A court favorite was the court’s annual Fourth of July party. All of the neighbors were invited to the Motozaki’s large New Years party at the nursery ranch house. Bob often showed home movies that he had taken at these parties with his Super 8 video recorder, truly ahead of his time in that regard. Some of the family’s most memorable vacations occurred during this time—several trips to see the Oakland A’s, a trip to Japan, 2 trips to Disneyland, many trips to Lake Tahoe, and a wonderful multi-week trip in a rented RV all the way up to British Columbia.
Bob had taken over the nursey business from his father Motonoshin in the early 1960’s. And he worked practically 7 days a week. So how did he have time to take the family on a multi-week trip in a rented RV? Well, a large supermarket with a nursery department selling plants was being built next to Thornton Nursery. No, it was not Walmart, but think of Walmart moving next door to your business and selling what you sell. Bob saw the handwriting on the wall, sold the nursery, and took the family on the RV trip before the family embarked on the next stage of their lives.
In 1973, Bob searched for new business opportunities, traveling often, while Nobuko held down the fort at home. Eventually he signed a 6-year lease to run a motel in Reno, Nevada. While Bob was living in a unit above the motel office, Nobuko was taking the kids to school and shuttling between the motel and house. It was remarkable that for 6 years she brought the kids to the motel every weekend and often during the week to spend time with their dad, all the while maintaining two households. Often she would cook dinner for Bob at the motel, then head back to the house to cook dinner for the kids. Nobuko was the one shuttling the kids to baseball practice and games. She often joked about how bad Andy’s Little League team was. Once again, the family had the good fortune of having good neighbors who helped each other out. The biggest difference, however, was that there was not a court full of kids and shared holiday activities.
When the motel lease expired, Bob, ever the entrepreneur, tried his hand at other businesses. He explored wholesale jewelry, but that did not work out. Nobuko spent a few years putting her florist experience to work when she worked for a florist in neighboring Sparks, Nevada. Then Bob bought an Asian food store in South Reno, which was fairly successful. He eventually sold that and opened and ran the Sushi Bar in downtown Reno for many years until he neared retirement. Nobuko was an essential partner in these ventures, working full-time in the Asian food store and the Sushi Bar. It is rather ironic that Nobuko went to bartending school and learned to mix drinks for customers even though she could not taste them because she was allergic to alcohol. Eventually when Bob and Nobuko decided to sell the Sushi Bar, Bob worked a couple of jobs as a bridge to retirement. Nobuko worked as a change lady in Circus Circus during these years before she eventually retired.
Retirement brought a number of changes, the biggest being that Bob and Nobuko really enjoyed spending time with their grandchildren. They looked forward to their visits to the Bay Area to see their grandkids, visit their favorite restaurants, go shopping, and enjoy their vacations here. Bob passed away in 2014. Nobuko became active in the Reno chapter of the JACL and enjoyed spending time with her neighbors. Her favorite activities included reading and watching Japanese cable TV.
In 2022 Nobuko began the final chapter of her life. She moved into an assisted living facility in Campbell that cares for Asian American seniors. This gave Nobuko an opportunity to see her son Andy and his family more often. Although it was a significant adjustment, Nobuko apparently spoke with the staff about her family. Her health started a downward trend, starting in November 2023 when she could no long walk for significant stretches and started using a wheel chair. By February she was in hospice, although she did not have a terminal illness but qualified according to her physician. She eventually passed in October. Nobuko was 85 years old.
Nobuko is predeceased by her husband Robert and son Cary. She is survived by her son Andy (Eileen) and grandchildren Sarah and Alex.
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