Russell Dean Matsumoto

Russell Dean Matsumoto was born in Sacramento, CA on August 12, 1954 and passed unexpectedly on October 24, 2016. Russell grew up in Sacramento with his parents, Larry and Dorothy, and his younger brother Randall. He graduated from McClatchy High School in 1971. At the age of 16, he left home to attend college at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1975, Russell graduated with honors and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature. He continued his education at UC Berkeley and attended Hastings College of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1978. From 1977 to 1978, Russell worked as a law clerk at the San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation, which provided legal assistance to underserved members of the Bay Area community. He became one of the founding members of Nihonmachi Legal Outreach in San Francisco, a community-based, social justice organization serving Asian, Pacific Islander, and other communities of the Bay Area. Russell was part of the legal team that successfully overturned the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American whose conviction had been affirmed 40 years earlier in the landmark case, United States v. Korematsu, in which the United States Supreme Court approved as constitutional the executive order authorizing the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. In December 1979, he joined Kaz Maniwa to form the Law Offices of Maniwa and Matsumoto. In 1986, Russell married his life-long love, Linda Nakayama. They had two sons, Nicholas and Christopher. In September 1990, before Christopher was born, Russell was offered a partnership in a small firm in Coalinga, where he joined Ted Frame and formed the Law Offices of Frame and Matsumoto.

The firm specialized in agriculture law, tax law, litigation, and estate planning. After making the move from San Francisco to Coalinga, Russell and Linda soon became an integral part of the community. Russell loved visiting with long-time Coalinga residents and hearing about the lives of Coalinga's earliest settlers, ranchers and farmers. A quick visit for a simple task could end up taking a couple of hours, with Russell taking in every detail of the client’s family history. When the boys were young, Russ enjoyed taking Boy Scouts camping trips, attending the boys’ karate matches and attending swimming matches. He also loved taking weekend trips with Linda to their vacation home in Cambria, where Russ enjoyed walking on the beach. Russell was active with the local chapter of the Elks Lodge 1613, and the Coalinga Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the American Bar Association and was a licensed Real Estate Broker. After 23 years in Coalinga, the law firm, now known as Frame, Matsumoto & Coelho, LLP, relocated to Fresno in November 2013, where Russell continued his diverse law practice. Russell was devoted to and beloved by his family. He was an adoring husband, father, son in law, uncle, and friend. He was respected and admired by his colleagues. "He will be deeply missed."