Robert Kanji Fujimura

“I’ve lived a good life!” - Bob Fujimura

On November 5, 2023, Robert "Bob" Kanji Fujimura was reunited in heaven with his beloved wife Shigeko. He is survived by his three children, son Dan (Nina) Fujimura of Bothell, WA, and daughters Tomi Fujimura (Jan Sysmans) of Sunnyvale, CA and Kei Fujimura (Ed Kraay) of San Francisco, CA; his grandchildren, Carolyne & Eryk Sysmans and Simon Kraay; and two siblings, Irene Nishimoto of Vancouver, WA and Jerry (Mari) Fujimura of Bremerton, WA. In addition to reuniting with Shigeko, Bob has now been reunited with his sister, June Nishimura, who passed away in December 2022. Bob led a curiosity-driven satisfying life, despite growing up during the turmoils of WWII, and will always be remembered for his energetic spirit, filled with optimism and inquisitiveness. His passions included scientific research, the outdoors, and Japan-US relations.

Bob Fujimura was born on July 28, 1933, in Seattle, WA. His parents were Tatsuo Fujimura (née Kawamura) of Hofu, Japan and Ruth Tamiko Fujimura of Seattle, WA. Though Bob’s father married an American-born Japanese, he could not remain in the US during the ‘30s due to immigration laws prohibiting him from becoming an American citizen. He moved his family to Japan-occupied Manchuria (now China) where they remained until the end of WWII.

When WWII ended, roughly 1 million Japanese evacuated back to Japan from Manchuria. Miraculously, all of Bob’s family survived a grueling 40-day journey by box car train and foot despite traveling with an ill mother and young siblings. They returned safely to Hofu, Japan until Bob’s grandparents in the US were able to locate them (they were interned in Minidoka, one of the many Japanese internment camps during WWII) and brought them back to the US. Unfortunately, Bob’s father was not able to join them since he was not a US citizen. He did not move to the US until the mid-1950s.

Bob and his family settled in Opportunity, WA where he said it gave him his “opportunity” in life. He graduated from Central Valley High School as valedictorian. He said that he translated all his studies into Japanese so he could understand what he was learning. He also helped his grandparents run their restaurant business and often fell asleep in class due to the hard work he endured.

Bob won a full scholarship to the University of Washington where he majored in Chemistry. Bob continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin and earned a PhD in Biochemistry, a new area of research at that time. He did his postdoctoral fellowship at Osaka University where he met his wife, Shigeko Ichikawa. Upon completing his post-doc, he took his bride back to Madison before moving to Oak Ridge, TN to work in the Biology Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL). There, he conducted research on DNA polymerase isolated from the T5 bacteriophage.

Bob loved the outdoors and led an idyllic life in Oak Ridge with Shigeko and their children. He played in the tennis league, went fishing (he caught a White Marlin that hung in his home), and hiked in the Great Smoky Mountains with his family. Most summers with the family were spent camping in the National Parks throughout the US. He and Shigeko would eventually visit all 50 states together.

In 1985, Bob became a diplomat for the US State Department where he assessed the growing field of biotechnology in Japan. Upon returning from Japan, Bob retired from ORNL and took a position with the Food and Drug Association (FDA) in Bethesda, MD where he quantified HIV DNA from brain tissue. He continued his research at the University of Miami where he and Shigeko lived for about 10 years. In 2007, he visited former Manchuria where he spent his childhood. Together with Shigeko, cousins Yukio Kamata and Hideko Suzuki, sister Irene, brother Jerry, and Sakakazu & Hisako Hasegawa, they strolled the streets of Mukden (Shenyang, China), reliving old memories.Sadakazu Hasegawa was Bob’s childhood friend in Manchuria whose father gave Bob's father a job as manager of the South Manchuria Railway owned Yamato Hotels. He was also Shigeko’s cousin (which is how they met in Osaka).

Bob and Shigeko moved to Snohomish, WA in 2009 to live near their son. And in 2012, Bob and Shigeko volunteered to help with relief efforts in Ishinomaki, Japan after the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami.

In 2017, Shigeko passed away. Bob missed her greatly and often said he saw her in his dreams. Soon after her passing, he moved to the University House near the University of Washington. It is a retirement community whose tenants have similar backgrounds and interests as Bob. They would enjoy lecture from UW, go to the symphony and opera, and explore walking trails in the greater Seattle area. While there he completed and published the Japanese version of his memoir, Current of My Life Fishing, which was published in English a few years prior.

Bob always had a curious nature - not only around his scientific research, but also in Christianity and other places around the world. He was an active member of the Methodist Church in Oak Ridge, Miami, and Seattle and was involved with the Committee for Science & Theology under the United Methodist Church. He and Shigeko loved to travel and often visited Japan and countries in Europe. Even after Shigeko passed, his sense of adventure continued. He would plan trips intending to go on his own but his children ensured to accompany him since he was notorious for getting lost. He did a 5-day pilgrimage trek on the Kumano Kodo Trail in Wakayama, Japan accompanied by Tomi, Jan, and Eryk. Kei and Ed accompanied Bob, along with his sister Irene, on a cruise from Athens to Istanbul. Last Christmas, he met Tomi and her children in Japan to visit relatives and continued down to Singapore where Tomi & Jan are currently. Bob’s last trip was to McCall, ID with the entire Kraay family at a cabin by a stream.

Bob was a supportive, loving father and grandfather who took an active interest in the lives of all his children and grandchildren. He will be missed for his willingness to participate and try new things, his quirky sense of humor, and his infectious, loud laugh. We will always love you, Bob. You lived a good life, indeed.