Paul K. Sakaguchi

On Valentine’s Day in 1924, Chitose Sakaguchi gave birth to her third son, Paul Kuni.  She and husband Naoki had lost one infant son; Kuni joined his older brother Sumio in their Seattle home.

Paul Kuni grew up playing sports with his friends in the neighborhood, attending Central Elementary School and then Broadway High School.  Due to EO 9066, his high school graduation took place at Camp Harmony, in Puyallup. 

The family was interned with thousands of others at Minidoka during World War II.  From there, Kuni and his brother Sumio served out the War at McNeil Island, where they formed lifelong friendships that have continued for decades.

After release from McNeil, Kuni worked in Seattle and began his own gardening business.  He met and married Sonoye Kiuchi in 1950;  they were married for 66 years.

Their first child, Ann, was born in 1952, despite Kuni’s desire for a boy.  Paul Jr. came along the following year; Mark was born in 1957.

In support of his children, Kuni became involved in the Boy Scouts.  Over the years, he led the varied activities of Troop 252, serving years as Scoutmaster and mentor to many young men.

As his family grew, Paul transitioned from gardening to the grocery business.  He worked many years for Tradewell stores as produce manager. 

Paul took his family on regular car trips, camping trips and excursions.  He and Sono expanded their travel after retirement to enjoy trips to Asia, the British Isles, and cruises in the Caribbean.  Whenever they could, tennis and golf were fit into their travel plans.

Paul loved sports; to play them and to watch them.  He was a true fan of all the Seattle teams; all sports, college, pros, men, women.

He passed away peacefully at home after a short illness on December 4, 2016.

Paul Kuni is preceded in death by his parents Chitose and Naoki, and his brothers Osamu and Sumio.  He is greatly missed by his wife Sono, daughter Ann, son Paul Jr. (Stacie), son Mark (Debbie), 4 granddaughters and 5 great grandchildren.

Private family services are being held.

Please share your memories of Paul by signing his online guestbook.

Gifts in his memory may be made to the Lymphoma Research Foundation (https://community.lymphoma.org or 115 Broadway, Suite 1301, New York, NY 10006) OR Operation Nightwatch (http://seattlenightwatch.org/donatefin.htm or PO Box 21181, Seattle, WA 98111)