Tomako Mori was born in Loomis, CA in 1919. She was one of seven children raised on a 100-acre fruit farm in Lincoln. Life on the farm had its challenges. Crops had to be handpicked; there was no modern farm equipment to harvest the crops. They rode horses and buggies to haul fruit from the fields to be packed into wood crates. Tomako’s father was from Hiroshima and didn’t speak any English. “There was no telephone at home to call a doctor. So he delivered all of his children,” says Tomako’s daughter Anna Louie.
Tomako’s father returned to Japan periodically to take care of family property. In 1936, she and her father got stuck in Osaka. She went to high school and junior college there. Like all girls of her age, she learned flower arranging and how to serve tea. To make money, she ran a black market in town, selling shoyu, groceries and cigarettes to people. “I had dual citizenship, so at one point, I also worked for the U.S. government as an interpreter.”
She met her husband, Kenny Mori, in 1949. Returning by ship from Japan, she saw him standing on the pier in San Francisco. With a smile, she recalls,” It was love at first sight”. They married in May 1951. In the 1950s, the Moris started a business called General Automotive Service. He was the auto mechanic and she was the bookkeeper. Their son Kenneth now oversees the business.
Tomako recently had a big 100th birthday bash at Thunder Valley Casino. What’s the best part of making it to 100? She says, “ I feel great. My mind stays sharp because I look after my investment properties. I see friends every week. On Wednesdays, we meet at Thunder Valley for lunch and to play slot machines. On Fridays, I see them at the Japanese Buddhist Church for lunch.” Tomako and Kenny raised five children – Anna, Kenneth, Tom, Tim, and Tami. Tomako is the happiest when seeing her family, which also includes six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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